Flat Mates
by Gilly Bean2
Summary: AU: Buffy needs a new place to live, and tracks down a room mate. Adventure ensues. -A small chapter added on to the end 7.31- COMPLETED FICTION
1. Chapter 1

Buffy looked out the window to her small apartment with disdain. She hated this place, but her job as a waitress didn't afford much choice in homes. Her mom had been hounding her to find a new job, and therefore, a new place to live. Buffy loved the idea, but as she had found out in the past month, it was better said then done. She had taken to scanning both the job ads and the housing ads in the daily paper. She had found many great apartments that way.  
  
Great apartments that she would be able to rent in say, 50 years. She was about to give up when a section caught her eye. It was almost never in the paper anymore, so she was mildly interested. Buffy scanned through the ad quickly. Mid 20's male seeking 2 flat mates to share expenses and large flat. Utilities split 1/3, rent $225 per person. Male or female. 555-3202, 3529 #202 West End AVE, Sunnydale. Apply by phone or in person. Ask for William.  
  
Buffy was more then a bit surprised. She re-read the ad, and looked out the dingy window again. She paid almost $400 for this dump, and had to add on top of that a ridiculous amount for gas and electric. Phone was an extravagance that she had given up on nearly a month earlier, to say nothing of cable TV. She looked at the address again. It wasn't the prettiest neighborhood, but it was a good deal better then this district. She tugged at her lip, and finally her mind decided it was at least worth checking into. It was cheaper then where she was, and so long as the place wasn't a dive, it would be worth having roommates.  
  
She glanced once more at it, and her brow quirked at the word Flat instead of Room. Odd, she thought. Maybe he's British, like Giles. She went into her bathroom, and pulled off her pajama's, and pulled on a thin red sweater. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, and then tugged a brush through her long hair. She didn't have to work until later that afternoon, so she had plenty of time to stop by.  
  
Buffy locked the door as she left, though she knew she really didn't have much worth stealing. She hurried down the steps, and came out into the slightly chilly mid-morning, and she stopped to glance at her watch. She had just enough time to get to the bus stop before the right bus would arrive. Buffy walked briskly towards the stop, and waited for the West End bus to arrive. It would drive towards the nicer neighborhood, and from there, she could walk to the apartment.  
  
Her eyes drifted casually from person to person on the bus, but she made certain not to make eye contact. Buffy finally just looked out the window and watched as the landscape got better, and the dingy dirty area melted away to clean side walks, and nice buildings. Finally, the bus came to a halt, and Buffy quickly made her way off of it. As she did, Buffy glanced down at the paper in her hand, and made her way towards the right section of the road.  
  
It wasn't far from the bus stop, which was a bonus in Buffy's non-driving mind. The apartment was up on the second floor, but there was a door buzzer to let people in. She looked over the names scrawled in the small places next to the numbers, and she ran her finger down, looking for apartment 202. She found it, and next to it, rather than a name, there was a black line slashing it out. She titled her head to the side for a moment, and then quickly buzzed the number before she lost her nerve.  
  
"Yeah, what is it?" A grouchy voice growled through the intercom a few moments later.  
  
"I'm stopping by because of the ad in the paper? For a roomie?" Her voice was hesitant at first, but she shrugged it off, and pushed away the nervous butterflies in her belly. There was silence for a moment, and Buffy was beginning to wonder if she was already to late to apply.  
  
"Oh, right. Come on up, then. First door on the left up the stairs." There was a loud buzz as the door was released, and Buffy walked up the steps. The door was already open, and a tousled bleach blonde head was sticking out of it. "Right here, ducks. 'aven't got all day." Buffy blushed and picked up her dragging feet, and quickly made it to the stop of the stairs.  
  
"Hi, my name's Buffy, and you are William." She held her empty hand out towards him, and he quickly shook it, and showed her in. His hair was mussed from sleep, and she could tell from his blurry eyes that she had woken him. She glanced back down again to her watch, and felt better that it was already 10:30.  
  
"Yeah, that'd be me. So, needing a place to stay, then? Rent's $225, utilities will come out to about $60 a month total after it's split, and that includes basic phone, internet, cable, gas and electric. You're the first to apply, so you can have your pick of the loft or the bedroom that's left. Loft's bigger, but there's no walls on the one side, so it can be pretty open." He gestured upward, and Buffy's eyes glanced towards the ceiling. The loft had a waist high wall running along the open side, and a set of stairs going up. There was also a sky light over top of it. He was right though; it wouldn't afford her much privacy.  
  
"So, you want?" His voice brought her eyes back down to his, and she noticed for the first time that his eyes were a bright blue, like the sky.  
  
"I. can I look around first? I can already say it's better then where I live now, but.well, I've never had a room mate." William nodded briefly, and pulled her through the apartment. To the left of the entry was a small kitchen. It looked clean, but it also looked very unused. "This is the kitchen, but I'm hardly ever here for a meal, so not sure just what you'll find here. Anything that's in there is left over from my old flat mates."  
  
Buffy nodded as she walked through, and opened a few of the cupboards. She was surprised to see he had quite a few dishes and cooking pots. She smiled at him, and moved on towards the dining room. There was a mismatched table with 3 odd chairs, none of which were the same. On the surface, there were sheets of music scattered about. He shrugged a bit as he shuffled them together into a semi neat pile. She went over and looked at the top one, and sat her newspaper down to pick up the half filled sheet.  
  
"I write songs, you'll find these everywhere."  
  
"Oh, alright." She spoke softly and moved on towards the living room, which wasn't overly large, but still, better then her current place. The sofa was covered with a blue sheet, and an old green recliner sat in a corner. The TV looked to be brand new, with an entire entertainment set up around it. Guess I know where his money goes, she thought. He led her through a short hallway, and pointed out the large bathroom, and his own bedroom.  
  
Coming to a stop before the last door in the hall, he opened it to a semi furnished room. There was a dresser with empty drawers sticking out, a striped bare full size bed, and a small nightstand. She walked in and glanced into the closet, which was a walk-in. Buffy turned and noticed that William's eyes were on hers. He glanced away quickly, and a bored look replaced the strange one he had been wearing.  
  
"I guess I just need to see the loft, but. I'll take the lease. It's about ten times better then the place I'm at now." She brushed past him, and walked towards the stairs in the living room. She stopped and glanced behind her. He was still in the bedroom doorway, his back to her. She could tell his muscles were tense, but he shook his arms out before turning to again catch her eye. Buffy felt herself blushing slightly before she made her way to the loft. Up there, it was filled partially with odds and ends.  
  
William came up behind her, and glanced around. He had forgotten that Dru had left so much stuff when she had taken off. "It mostly belongs to one of the old flat mates. They've been gone so long; I don't think they plan to come back for it. If you want anything in there, you're free to it. If you want the loft, we can go through the junk, and toss whatever isn't needed. Oh, there's also a garage, but I have kind of gotten used to it. Do you drive?"  
  
Laughing, Buffy shook her head no. "Buffy and cars equal bad things. We are very unmixy." She started walking around, and saw that there was some furniture up there, and lots of boxes of clothing. Without really glancing through it, she went over to look over the top of the waist high wall. She looked up, and saw it was only a few feet from the top of the wall to the ceiling. Maybe I could hang some cloth there, she thought. "I think I'll take the loft. It's kinda neat up here. Plus, I'll have room for all my own junk."  
  
William smiled as he nodded, and brought her back down the stairs. He rummaged through the computer desk, and brought up a lease agreement. "I just need you to sign this, so the office has a record of it, and so that you know all the rules." His eyes rolled when he said rules, and he smirked as he handed her the lease. She chuckled softly, and quickly went through the lease before signing at the bottom.  
  
"So, pet, when you moving in?" His accent was more pronounced now, and she glanced up at him from the lease with a smile.  
  
"As soon as I can contract help. I have a month-to-month agreement where I am, so I don't need to worry about it, but I'd like to be out by the end of the month, so I don't have to pay double rent. I. do I have to pay double rent? When do you need rent?" She was suddenly worried, knowing she wouldn't have enough money to cover two payments yet. He noticed the look on her face, and smiled.  
  
"No worries. You can move in now. Rent's not due till the 5th of the month." He said softly, even though he knew he had been planning to ask for rent up front. Oh well, he figured. He needed the flat mates, and beggars can't be choosers. "What kind of help is it that you need, exactly?"  
  
"Well, I think I'm going to get rid of all my bigger furniture, since it's rather ucky, so I'll need help getting it out of the apartment, and over to Good Will or something, and then I'll also need help transporting boxes. One box at a time on the bus could take a long time." Cursing himself even as he offered, William mentioned quickly that he could help transport boxes at the very least.  
  
"Oh, no, that's alright. Xander has a truck for work, so I'll just force him into slave labor. So long as I provide pizza, he'll do it." Without thinking why, he felt a bit of a twinge at the obviously male name.  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, Xander's a friend from high school who still lives in town. Most my friends went away for college." He nodded, feeling slightly relieved.  
  
"Ah, ok. Well, pet, any time you want to move in, you're welcome to. I work midnights over at the plastics factory, and 3 afternoons a week, I help out at my uncles shop down town, so I'm really not here all that much, but if you warn me ahead of time, I can try to make sure I'm here. Oh, while I'm at it, here's a key for you. It works on the main door as well as the flat door." He dug around his key chain, and pulled off one of the two spares. "If you think you might lose it, make a copy or two, but don't pass it around, please. I had a mate who felt the need to share his key with just about every friend the bloke ever had. Came home to a house full of strangers on more then one occasion."  
  
"Oh, that's no problem, I really only hang with Xander, and sometimes go to a movie with some friends from work, but really, I usually just stick around home." She smiled somewhat shyly towards him, and then walked towards the door. "I'll stop over before I move in, ok? I don't have a phone, so I can't call to let you know, but I'll make sure you know first. I'd also like to thank you. This helps out a lot. It's so much nicer then my hole, and like two-thirds the price. Anyway, I'll be back in a day or two." She shook his proffered hand, and they parted, both Buffy and William with a smile.  
  
After Buffy left, William smiled despite the early wake up call, and walked towards his table to write some lyrics down that she had inspired in him. He noticed her newspaper on the table, and flipped it open to read. He came to the want ads, and noticed she had several circled, with a few of them crossed off. He glanced through the few she had crossed off. None were anything good, and none were all that great paying, so it made him wonder just what she did now. He also noticed she had gone through a few apartment ads, none of which were in a good area, and all of which were dirt-cheap. He suddenly felt very glad he had placed the ad when he had. He didn't want to think about her in any of those neighborhoods.  
  
******** 


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2  
  
Buffy got back on the bus smiling, and headed towards the downtown area. She had several jobs she wanted to check out today for a second job, and she didn't have much time to look. It was when she neared downtown that she realized that she had forgotten her newspaper back at the apartment. She rubbed her face wearily, and got off down town. She knew where at least two of them were in the area, so she sighed in resignation, and walked towards the shops. The first was a small clothing store that catered towards older women, and the second was a gag shop that sold magic stuff.  
  
Buffy stopped at the clothing shop first, and started to go in, but she ended up walking past it. She really wanted to check out the magic shop first. The window was filled with black satin and white gloves, along with two red roses. Buffy paused to glance in the window before entering, and then she made her way into the small fragrant shop. Several candles could be seen glowing from the entranceway, giving off a pleasant scent. She smiled as she walked the rest of the way in.  
  
A young blonde woman walked up to her with a pleasant smile, and her soft voice lilted as she quietly talked. "Hi, welcome to the Magic Box. My name is Tara. Is there anything I can help you find?"  
  
"Um, actually, I saw an ad in the paper, looking for part time evening help. I was wondering if it had been filled yet?" Buffy tried not to sound to hopefully for the job, but couldn't suppress the slight look of disappointment when she asked if it had been filled. She glanced around the room before her gaze fell back on to Tara's. Tara smiled reassuringly, and shook her head.  
  
"No, it hasn't been yet. If you would like, I have an application for you to fill out. You will need to speak with the owner first, but you are the first nibble we've gotten on the ad yet, and we've had it in the paper for 2 days now." She walked towards the counter, and brought out a sheet of paper, and an ink pen. Smiling again, she handed them to Buffy. "You can fill them out here, if you would like, and Mr. Giles can talk with you as soon as you are done." She left Buffy alone to fill in the paper work, and the only thing Buffy paused on was her new address. She left it blank for now, and finished filling the paper out.  
  
When she was done, Buffy handed the paper to the pretty young woman, and waited for her to take it into the back. Tara was back in a few moments, and smiled at Buffy. "You can follow me back if you would like now." Buffy smiled nervously as she walked into the back room. She was shown into a small office where an older man was sitting, a pair of glasses perched on his nose as he read over her application.  
  
"Ah, Miss Summers, have a seat. I just need to." He trailed off as he finished reading the application, and Buffy could tell that he was fairly absentminded. She sat quietly waiting while he finished it. When it was finished, Mr. Giles sat the paper down, and pulled his glasses off. He pinched the bridge of his nose slightly, and cleaned the lenses before placing them back on. "Miss Summers, you left your address blank. Can you explain that?" He was afraid the answer would be that she didn't have one, but he could hope.  
  
"Actually, I have an address, but I just signed a new lease about an hour ago, and I forgot to ask the guy what his address was. I... actually, if you have today's paper, it was in there. I can get it from the paper." Mr. Giles nodded as he watched the young woman in front of him. He glanced about the mess of paper and books on his desk, and located a newspaper. He handed it to her, and she smiled sheepishly while flipping to the back.  
  
"Here it is.3529 West End Avenue, apartment 202, Sunnydale California." She put the paper down, and looked back up at him. "I also didn't put a phone number down, but that's in here as well, do you.?" She trailed off and looked at his puzzled expression. "Mr. Giles?" She asked tentatively. Mr. Giles blinked and looked at her. He laughed to cut the nervousness, and smiled.  
  
"Yes, Miss Summers, a phone number would be nice. Though...I fail to see how the number in the paper would be yours, if you are renting, don't you get your own number?"  
  
"Well, it's a room mate situation. The guy had a spare room and a loft, so, he's already got a phone number, and that's the one I'll be using." She smiled, and looked down for the number. "The number is 555-3202."  
  
"Ah, yes, that would be why the address was so familiar. You'll have to forgive me; I was lost in trying to locate the address in my mind. I do believe you must be renting in with William, Miss Summers? Am I correct?" His expression cleared from the weirdness, and a smile lit on his features as he looked over at her now. "Did he send you in for a job, or was it the paper?"  
  
"You know William? How bazaar is that? And, anyway, I got the ad from the paper." She felt a bit easier, hoping that her association with William would help.  
  
"He's my nephew. He works here with me a few afternoons a week. Now, I suppose we should continue on with the interview. I need help in the evenings, 2 days a week, and on Saturday during the day. The hours would come out to about 15 or 20 a week, and the pay is $7.15 an hour. Pay is weekly, and there is also a 20% discount on anything you find in the store that you like. Do you, ah, have any knowledge of Magical items?"  
  
"Um, not... really. Is that going to be a problem? I mean, I learn fast. I can figure most of this stuff out fairly quick. I. I really need a second job. I haven't had much luck in finding one, and I promise, I work hard, and I never call in." Her voice was slightly pleading towards the end of the rambling. "And, you don't really care about something like that. I'm sorry, I'm nervous, and I tend to ramble on when I get nervous."  
  
Mr. Giles nodded as he listened, and he jotted down a few notes at the end section of the application. He smiled at her when she stopped. "No, it's alright. I like to get a feel for the person, and people can be so fake when they do interviews. Well, I think I have everything I need here. When can you start?"  
  
"You're giving me a job?" Buffy's stunned reply came quickly, before she could stop it.  
  
"I believe you can do a good job here, so yes."  
  
"I. I can start tomorrow. I work at a diner most days, but I'm usually out by 5. I can be here by 5:30, ready to go."  
  
"That would be perfect, Miss Summers, William works tomorrow, so he'll be able to help train you." Mr. Giles stood up, and held his hand out towards her. "Welcome aboard, Miss Summers." Buffy squealed and stood up. She held her hand out and shook his hand.  
  
"Oh, god, thank you. I really appreciate this. You won't regret it, I promise. And please, call me Buffy."  
  
*********  
  
Buffy was smiling as she got in to her dingy apartment that night after her pick up shift. Working the dinner shift had improved her tips, and she had walked out with almost $60 in tips for the 6-hour shift. She told them that she was going to be moving over the next couple of days, and gave them the address she had copied down from the paper. When she got home, she found Xander's truck sitting out front, and she quickly let herself in.  
  
"Hey, Xan? Where you at?" She kicked her shoes off as she walked into the small living room. A moment later, Xander came out from the bathroom, holding a magazine under his arm.  
  
"Hey Buffster. Thought I'd pop out and see about bronzing it tonight. You game?"  
  
"Xander, I wish I could, but I really need to pack, and get sleep because I have to start moving into my new fabulous apartment, AND start my new job tomorrow!" She squealed as she stared to bounce from side to side.  
  
"Whoa. did you say sleep?" His eyes were twinkling as he asked that, knowing she would go nuts at him for ignoring the obviously new situation.  
  
"Xander. focus. I got a new job, and such an awesome new apartment. The only down fall is that there's a roomie, but he's not so bad."  
  
"Again with the Whoa. HE?" Xander gave her his patented 'disapproving-big- brother' look as he crossed his arms over his chest, and his legs set a bit wider. "I don't think so, Buff. This is a big, resounding, NO."  
  
"Xander, I already signed the lease, and you start moving me in by this weekend. Don't worry; you'll like the place. I have a loft, and it's bigger then my bedroom and living room put together. Hey, idea! Do you still want out of your parents place? Cause he's got a room open still, or did, this morning. That way, you could move in too, and be all protective-big-brother from the inside!"  
  
"But. wait, how much does this place cost?" Xander wasn't real sure about moving yet. There was something comforting about living at home still, even if home was dirty, gross, and filled with drunks.  
  
"It's only $225 a month, and split utilities. William said it would be around $60 a month for that. The place is in a good neighborhood, and you have wanted me out of this one for a while now. We can call over there, but he's probably at work." Buffy went into the kitchen to grab something to drink, and ended up screeching as a cockroach skittered across the floor. Xander came rushing in and stomped on it before it could disappear again.  
  
"Alright, I'll help you pack. Maybe you can as tomorrow about that extra room. I'd feel so much better if you weren't there alone."  
  
***A bit shorter then the last one, I know, but TBC. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Buffy was running late already, and hurried towards the bus stop. She still had on her uniform from the diner, but she had clean clothes in the backpack slung over her shoulder. She glanced at her watch, and groaned. She was going to have to wait for the next bus, which would make her even later, and on her first day, too. She and Xander had stayed up until nearly 2 am packing things up, and marking things to go to the Salvation Army and Good Will. She was keeping her bed, and her kitchen table, which was a fairly nice one her mother had gotten her.  
  
The bus was finally coming up the street, and Buffy sighed in relief. She stood and waited for the bus to stop, and when it did, she quickly entered, and flashed her bus ride pass. Buffy made her way towards the back, and sat down for the 10-minute ride towards the shop. Her thoughts were scattered, flittering from Xander to William to her new job. So much had changed in just one day, and she was happy that she had over ruled her head and checked the apartment out. Now, she was just hoping that the second room was still open.  
  
Buffy was pulled from her revere when the bus came to a stop a block from the magic shop. She hurried through the doors, and jogged down the street at a quick pace. She glanced at her watch as she came through the door, and saw that it she was only 10 minutes late. She hurried towards the back, and smiled apologetically at Tara when she passed through.  
  
"Hi, Buffy. William's in back in the office, he said to have you go straight back." Tara smiled as Buffy walked towards the back, and dropped her backpack on a table. She walked quickly over to the door of the office, and knocked.  
  
"Yeah, come in." William said as he went over the paper work in front of him. He glanced up, and smiled when he saw Buffy standing there. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a bun, with small tendrils hanging loose around her face. Cor, I forgot how pretty she is, he thought. He straightened up in the chair, and forced his mind off of her looks. He glanced at the clock just to the side of the door, and put a disapproving frown on his face.  
  
"You're late. Is this going to be habit?" Buffy blushed, and William was struck again by how pretty she was. She quickly shook her head, and smiled sheepishly.  
  
"I got let out late at the diner, and then the bus was late, and. I'm sorry, no it isn't going to be a habit." She watched him with hopeful eyes, and started to tug at her lower lip with her teeth.  
  
"It's alright, just try to make sure that you call if you are going to be running late. Uncle Rup can get anal at times. I won't even mention this one." He dropped the frown, and replaced with a smirk. His eyes are so blue, she thought, as he winked at her playfully. Buffy relaxed visibly after that. "You plan to work in that uniform?" His eyes traveled down the short orange dress, and ended up on her legs. He tore his gaze away from the shapely legs, and looked up at her face.  
  
"No, I brought a change of clothes, but I thought it'd be best to let you know I was here before changing." Buffy knew her face was tinged a pale pink from his lingering gaze on her legs, but she tried to push it away, and ignore it. He quickly nodded, and pointed behind her, to a door just outside of the small office.  
  
"You can change in there, then just let me know when you're done." He smiled warmly at her, and she again found herself to be blushing as she backed out of the room. Buffy stumbled into the wall, and her blush became worse, before she finally turned and ducked quickly from the room. She grabbed her backpack on the way through the room, and locked herself into the small employee bathroom.  
  
Buffy looked at herself in the mirror, and whimpered softly at the sight before her. No wonder he was staring, she thought, I look like a greasy wreck! She pulled the elastic band out of her hair, and it dropped limply against her face. Pulling her hands through it, she whimpered again, and ended up braiding it back from her face, and wrapping it up into a bun at the nape of her neck.  
  
Turning from the mirror in disgust, she took off the day-glow uniform, and pulled on a simple pair of jeans and a gauzy blouse. Buffy spritzed herself with body spray, to hopefully at least mask the scent of fried meat like product, and left the room. William was shuffling through some storage shelves in the room, and turned to smile at her. "All set to learn the how's and why's of magic?"  
  
"I have to warn you up front, I've never done anything with anything you guys sell here, so I don't know how easily I will learn, but I intend to try, at the very least. Oh, I was also meaning to ask you, did you rent out the other room yet?" She smiled up at him, trying to keep focused, and keep her eyes off of his very blue, very intense eyes. I wonder what they would look like in the throes of passion, she thought idly, oh, God, what am I thinking! She found, to her amazement, that her eyes were again focused on his.  
  
"No, haven't had any serious nibbles for it, either. Why, you know anyone who needs a place?" I imagine her skin is as soft as a flower petal, he thought, before stopping himself, and focusing on the conversation at hand. Her hand came up, and brushed a stray hair away from her lovely face, and William very nearly groaned.  
  
"My friend, the one I mentioned, Xander? He was looking for a place to stay, and I mentioned that there might still be another room available. Anyway, I kinda mentioned I'd have him pick me up from here tonight, and then I could show him the place, and if there was still a room, he could talk to you. Is that all right?" Buffy was fidgeting, she knew she was, but it went hand in hand with her rambling. It happened when she was nervous, which she was right now.  
  
"Sure, pet, that's fine. Shop closes up at 10, but Tara is here until then, and we can cut out a bit early with no worries. What time is he nabbing you at?" William wasn't to sure about taking on her friend as well, but at least it wasn't a boyfriend. He cursed himself inwardly, and swore once more that he wouldn't be doing anything with Buffy, anyway. He had learned THAT lesson the hard way with Drusilla, and was still paying for it. No, he would keep his emotions in check, and stay single, or at the very least, date someone else.  
  
"He should be here around 9. I wasn't sure when I got out, and most shops close at 9, so I figured that was a good bet."  
  
"Sounds fine to me, now, let's get to work. We'll wow Uncle Rup yet."  
  
*********  
  
William unlocked the door, and waited while Buffy walked in with her friend. He had been studying William since arriving at the shop, and it was starting to grate thin on his nerves, but he also got the feeling that Xander was just being protective, and William could hardly fault the man for that. After all, Buffy was moving into a stranger's apartment, taking on a room mate, and doing it all with a person she had met twice now. He stepped to the side as the two passed into the hallway, and Buffy led the way up the stairs towards the apartment.  
  
She pulled out her own key triumphantly, and unlocked the door. She was snooping through the place when William came in, and Xander was looking around with a slightly impressed look, that is, until he noticed William. Then, it turned into a bored and disinterested look. William held a chuckle in, and removed his leather duster, placing it into the coat closet near the door.  
  
"So, follow me, Xander, and I'll show you the room quickly, then I need to get going. I work nights as well as the shop." Xander nodded, and followed behind William, while Buffy wandered her way up to her own loft. She noticed that a lot of the stuff was cleared up a bit, and she started going through some of the boxes. A few minutes later, she heard William telling Xander the prices, and heard him agree to the lease. She went back down the stairs, and saw Xander signing the lease.  
  
"All set?" She asked the two men, who both nodded in return.  
  
"So, I need to get going, but there's a bunch of stuff in the loft that I told Buffy she could go through, and see if she wanted any of it, so feel free to stay as late as you guys want. I'll see you tomorrow at the shop Buffy."  
  
"Yeah, sounds great. We'll start sorting the stuff now." Buffy went over and gave him a quick impromptu hug, and then pulled back far faster then either of them had wanted. William found himself staring into her eyes again, then blushed, and looked away. "Thank you, very much. We both really appreciate this."  
  
William just nodded, and disappeared into his room, cursing his own promise as he walked. She was so soft, he thought, why can't I just bury her in my arms, and keep her there?  
  
Buffy watched him walk away, and held a sigh in check. How is it I don't even know this man, but want nothing more then to spend the night wrapped in his arms?  
  
Xander looked at both William and Buffy, and couldn't help but wonder just what might happen between the two. The only thing he could hope, was that William wouldn't hurt her when it did happen. He turned away, so that Buffy wouldn't notice him watching. 


	4. Chapter 4

AN: First off, thank you guys SOOO much for all the wonderful reviews! I absolutely positively adore them! Next, the one review that mentioned Giles in chapter 1, I am sooooo embarrassed. Yes, I did accidentally leave him in that part, but I have since changed chapter 1, so that his name isn't used by Buffy. Anyway, moving on, here we go, a foray into part 4!

Chapter 4

Xander and Buffy sat surrounded by boxes up in the loft. Perched on Buffy's head was a wide floppy hat, complete with the most hideous combination of green and orange feathers. A purple feather boa was draped around her shoulders, and a pair of large rhinestone studded sunglasses were perched on her nose. Cuban music was playing in a small cd player they had uncovered, as well. Xander was bopping his head to the unusual beat. 

"Ok, I don't know what kind of woman this chick was, but daaaamn…" Xander's voice broke through over the obnoxious music, and Buffy started to laugh.

"Well, there are a few things I think I'll keep, but wow, most this stuff could get shipped to a small country, and never brought back." Buffy stood up, and tossed the feathered confection from her head, and brought forth another box. In this on, the theme was red and black, and the first thing she pulled forth was a long ankle length red and black velvet jacket. "Hmm… this is kinda cool. Wonder just how much she used to spend on clothing alone." Buffy slipped the jacket on, and spun around.

"Nice Buffster." Xander looked over at her, and grinned lopsidedly while sporting a pair of heart shaped day-glow pink sunglasses. Buffy glanced at him and started laughing, then looked back in the box and found a black cowboy hat, complete with a sparkly rhinestone band, and a bright red glitter covered star on the side. She pushed it onto her head, and dug some more. 

Near the bottom of the box, Buffy found some papers bound together with ribbons through the punch holes. Buffy sat down on a bright red beanbag chair they had uncovered, and started to read through the pages feeling only mildly guilty as she started.

The moon, it sings for you, my dark princess. It calls to me, and urges me to keep you forever, that I may never do anything to hurt you, or push you away. Dru, I love you now, and forever more will. Stay by my side, and I will always find a place in heaven. Be my girl? You're little Spike

Buffy stopped reading, and put the sheets down, not eager to find out who Spike was. She turned to find Xander sorting through some books he had found. "Xan, maybe we should clean this mess up, and sort what we actually want to keep, and pile the rest up for William to go through." She stood up, and started tossing the crazy clothes back into boxes, but kept out the feather boa. She tossed it onto her small pile, and put the clothing boxes up against the wall. She tucked the letters into the top of one of the boxes, and closed it tightly.

They finished organizing, and got all of the boxes down to the main floor, and stacked them up in the dinning room. Buffy had kept a nightstand, the red bean bag chair and a desk that had been up there, along with some odds and ends clothing pieces that she thought would look outrageous for Halloween. Xander hadn't found much of the girl's things that he wanted, except for the radio and a few books. It was past midnight when they had finished cleaning up, and locking the door behind them.

"I have tomorrow off, wanna help me move some stuff in? We can move your stuff in tomorrow night, too." Buffy asked Xander, while getting into his truck. They both decided to have him spend the night, and they would get going early in the morning. The only thing Buffy wanted to make sure of, was that they didn't show up at the apartment to early, so William could sleep in a bit. She smiled when she thought of him, as she got ready for bed. _He was so nice, and that accent!_ She thought to herself as she slipped between the covers on her bed. Buffy ended up falling asleep with a smile on her face.

*********

Xander's eyes flew open as he jumped up from the couch. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and he had yet to figure out why. His vision cleared from the sleepiness, and he found he was staring into Buffy's smiling face. She was sitting on his lap looking like it was Christmas morning.

"What in the devil was that for?"

"Get UP! It's almost 9, and I want to get going! We need to get rid of furniture, and get everything moved!! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Buffy had perfected her 'get-Xander-to-agree-to-anything' voice years ago, and it held just the slightest bit of whininess, just right for serving it's purpose. Xander whined, and pushed at her until she fell on her butt on the floor. "Hey! That wasn't very nice!"

Xander smirked and looked down at her. She was so cute when she was mad at him. When he had first met her, he had gotten a large crush on her, but they had grown into a comfortable friendship that he wouldn't change for anything. Besides, he had his eye on a girl who had just moved next to his parents. Cliché and all, he liked the girl next door, Willow.

"You gonna sit on your butt all day, or come help me move your stuff?" He smirked at the outraged look on her face as she stood up, her nose coming to just barely the top of his chest. Buffy glared at him, and then her hands flew to his sides and started tickling him. "Hey, that's so uncalled for! Besides, I'm sooooo much better at it!" Xander was squirming around, but his own hands managed to find her sides, and she started doing her own squirming.

*********

It was nearly thirty minutes later when they had gotten showered, and ate breakfast. Buffy was sitting in the middle of her bare living room, and looking at the furniture. They had decided to first ask a few of Buffy's neighbors about the stuff, and then take what was left to the Salvation Army shop right down the road. Xander was knocking on doors then, while Buffy finished placing her few pictures and knick-knacks into the box in front of her. They only filled half the box, so she would have room to put the stuff from the kitchen as well in it. 

Xander came back with the single mom who lived right next to her, and brought her into the living room. "Hey, Buff, whatcha getting rid of, again?"

Buffy looked up and smiled, while brushing the bangs from her eyes. "Everything except my dresser, my bed, and the kitchen table set. There's the entire living room set, and an old des, and a small dresser in my room that you can look at. The only thing is, I want to get it out today. But yeah, just look around, and let us know if there's anything you need."

Buffy disappeared into the kitchen with a wave, carrying the small box in her hands. She had started to pack up the dishes two nights ago, so those were all set to go, and now all she had left to pack was the stuff hanging on the walls, and the meager amount of food in her cupboards. She took the wall clock down, and placed it near the box, so that it could go on top, then took down the pictures of fruit her mother had gotten for her. Soon, the kitchen was packed.

Walking back to the living room, Buffy saw that Xander had cleared out an end table, and the old magazine rack. She walked towards her room, and found that the small dresser was also gone, and she smiled. She was glad it had gone to someone who could use it. Her bed had been stripped of its linen's that morning, and she had her dresser drawers out of it, waiting for it to be moved as well. Soon, all of her stuff would be out of this tiny apartment, and the only thing she could think was, _good riddance!_

Before to long, Buffy and Xander were loading the last of the furniture into the back of his truck to take into the shop. The apartment seemed so empty without her things, and so incredibly dirty and gross feeling. While feeling good for leaving the place behind soon, she felt bad for whoever would come next to this pit. She shook off her thoughts when they pulled into the parking lot. 

The guy inside was a big help, and soon they were back at the apartment, and this time, loading Buffy's things into it. It was nearly 2 pm when they finally pulled into the parking lot of their new place, all of Buffy's belongings squeezed into the back end, and a few bags in the cab. She was squished down onto the seat as they parked the truck, and Xander had to get out and let her out of her side. She tumbled from the truck with duffle bags. 

"Nice co-ordination, Buffster!" His voice was gleefully teasing as he poked towards her sides. They went up to the security door, and rather then just entering, buzzed the bell. It took a few moments before William's voice came over it. 

"Yeah?"

"Hi William, I'm here with my stuff."

"Oi, right. Need some help?"

"You wouldn't be wrong," Xander replied for her. The door buzzed open, and they went in with the duffels, and met William on the way out with a loose black sweatshirt on. He waved, and disappeared out the main door. Buffy took all of her bags up to the loft while Xander and William lugged the bed, dresser, and kitchen table in. 

Before to long, she had her furniture set up in the loft, and she was laying on the bed staring up at the ceiling while Xander and William were busy doing the male bonding, beer drinking thing in the kitchen. Buffy would be spending her first night here, and was looking forward to it. Xander had decided to wait until the upcoming weekend to move in, so that he wouldn't have to work around his own work schedule. He had already roped both Buffy and William into helping. 

Later that night, as Buffy was unpacking her things and placing them around the room, William came up to the room, and leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs. He silently watched her for a few minutes as she placed small figurines on a wooden shelf, and a small stuffed pig next to the items. On the lowest shelf, she placed the few books she owned.

His eyes traveled over her face, and down the slope of her neck. He held his smile of appreciation in check and reminded himself that she was a flat mate now, and therefore, off limits. He forcefully dragged his gaze from the top slope of her chest. Without saying a word, he padded silently down the stairs again, and shut himself away in his room to take a breather.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Buffy came breezing down the steps, and walked into the kitchen that morning. She woke up when Will had come in from work, and went down for their morning coffee. It had been nearly a week since she had moved in, and with the exception of a few small mishaps, they had quickly grown accustomed to sharing their living space.  
  
Xander had moved in just a few days ago as well, but he didn't get the idea behind the morning coffee. To him, it was precious hours of sleep robbed from him, so he just put a pillow over his head, and shut out the noise of his roomies talking in the morning. Buffy walked into the kitchen, and started the coffee maker, and then got out their mugs and the flavored creamers they both loved. William was an Irish Mint person, whereas she was a Double Chocolate person, though it wasn't uncommon for them to use both.  
  
"Morning breath, ugh!" Buffy swigged some orange juice from the carton, and was just pulling it from her lips when William came back from his room.  
  
"You are so busted! I knew it was you, drinking my juice and all. Man's got to have his own things, doesn't he?" His words sounded stern, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away that he didn't mind nearly as much as it sounded. Buffy found herself blushing, nonetheless. She capped the juice, and stuck it in the fridge.  
  
"Get over it, we split groceries, bottle blonde." She giggled and ducked past him to take the freshly brewed pot of coffee out, and fill their mugs. William came up behind her, and stuck his head over her shoulder to look down at the coffee. Buffy found herself having a slight problem pouring it after that. He could feel his warm breath on her neck and ear, and just the breath was sending shivers down her spin. She forced herself to steady, and finish pouring the glass.  
  
"Give a girl some space, why don't ya? You want me to accidentally spill hot scalding coffee all over myself?" Inside, however, Buffy was reveling in the nearness. He smelled slightly sweaty, but with an underlying musky maleness. Buffy kept her mind in check when she turned to hand him the coffee. He stood close, his nose only an inch or so from hers, and the look in his eyes was hard to read. She thrust the mug at him, forgetful of the scalding contents, and the hot liquid splashed onto her wrist.  
  
"Ow! Move it, you big oaf!" William stepped back quickly, and took the mug from her hands, and sat it down on the counter. Buffy was busy cursing him, coffee, and heat, when he pulled her by her uninjured hand to the sink, and ran some water. He pried the hand from her mouth, and shoved it under the luke warm water. "You couldn't have just moved, could ya? Just had to make me spill. Well, next time, it'll be you I spill it on!" Her curses grew silent as the painful throbbing finally started to let up, and she kept her eyes down on the angry splash of red on her wrist.  
  
"Sorry bout that, pet. Didn't realize you were gonna turn around so fast." It was a lie, and he knew it, but bloody hell, he wasn't about to admit she had caught him off guard in the grips of a fantasy, induced by the clean vanilla scent her hair wafted. He quietly stepped back, and watched as she let the tepid water moved gracefully across her sin.  
  
Buffy continued to curse softly under her breath, talking mostly to herself, though she did look up to glare at him twice. William couldn't quite contain the smirk on his face as he peered at her over the top of his cup of coffee. A moment later, she turned off the water, walked over towards the table, and pulled out a chair. She curled her leg up under her bottom and sat down, one leg drawing lazy circles on the floor with her big toe. Will stared down at the toe, and then traced it back up the slim tanned leg, to where her baggy shorts started.  
  
Tearing his gaze from the lovely leg displayed before him, he let his eyes drift towards hers. "How was your night pet? Learning the shop sufficiently?"  
  
Buffy was busy pouring her cream into the coffee, making it a milky color, and started to stir it. She glanced up at Will and smiled a bit. "I think I'm beginning to understand just how many wacky people there really are in Sunnydale. If I don't know some of the things yet, they mostly do, and can point out the correct ones. Anyway, it's getting easier. And, I got paid yesterday! My first ever totally splurgable check! Plus, day off today from the dinner." She was practically beaming, and her mind was filling with all sorts of things to do, shopping top on the list.  
  
"So, then, what's the plan for today?" He sat up on the counter, and slowly kicked his legs back against the cupboard. His coffee was gone, and he was wide-awake. He knew he would be for hours, but he loved their time together in the mornings, so he would just drink it, and talk with her, regardless of the caffeine affect.  
  
"I'm thinking shopping this morning, and then getting my hair cut this afternoon. Maybe even colored. I haven't decided if I'm brave enough for that yet. Sleep for you?"  
  
"Actually, I'm thinking I need to get some shopping done, so maybe we could do it together?" He strived to keep the hopeful tone from his voice as he casually looked towards her. She nearly groaned herself from the cute boyish smile on his face.  
  
"I suppose we could. When you wanna leave?"  
  
"Now?" Spike asked. Buffy glanced down at her clothing, and shook her head quickly.  
  
"No, I would rather attract guys, not repel them." Specifically you, she thought.  
  
"Pet, you couldn't repel them if you had bright green hair, and red polka dots on your face." Especially me, he thought. She started to laugh, and just rolled her eyes at him as she hopped up from the chair and placed her mug in the sink.  
  
"Fine, fine, give me ten minutes to change, and I'll be down." She disappeared around the kitchen corner, and up the steps, eager to get shopping.  
  
************  
  
"Oh for the love of- Hurry up and pick something out already!" Will was growing exasperated with her incessant need to try everything on two and sometimes three times. Though, he found no fault in getting to judge some of the outfits. She had tried short skirts, long skirts, tub tops, tank tops, and something called a camisole, though to his apparently untrained eye, it looked a lot like a tank top. Jeans came flying from the dressing room, and landed at his feet in defeat. Sighing, Will bent down and snatched em up, then handed them to an irritated looking sales lady.  
  
"I'm hurrying! It's just that I don't get to buy new stuff often, so I got into the habit of being very choosey and practical. It's hard to get used to the idea that I can pick anything I want, and get it."  
  
"Then bloody well pick up everything you want, and let's get out of here. I feel like nancy-boy vibes are going to pick me out and invade my very strapping and obviously manly body! They only pick the virile ones, you know!" Will started to pace back and forth, his hands folded together behind his back as his eyes focused on the pink carpet under foot.  
  
"Spike?" A soft feminine voice called out from behind him. His heart just about dropped to the floor when he heard it, and turned grudgingly around to look.  
  
"Drusilla. I had heard the circus was back in town. They let you out for some fresh air, or did you break out of your cage?"  
  
"Like you're one to talk-" Drusilla ended the phrase mid-sentence, and took a deep breath. "Look, I hate fighting, so can we just stop?"  
  
Behind the Dru, Will saw the dressing room door open, and Buffy stepped out wearing an impossibly short jean skirt, and a black gauzy peasants blouse that sat off her shoulders. The sleeves tucked in at her wrists, but then bellowed out and hung to nearly her knees on the under side of her slender arm. "Will, whatcha think? I think I like, but." She trailed off and turned to look in the three-way mirror. She twisted and turned, looking at her body from all angles.  
  
Smirking, Dru turned her attention towards Buffy. She glanced over at Will and noticed the small telltale smile he wore as he let his eyes drift slowly and adoringly over Buffy. "So, whose the new ho?" Drusilla asked quietly to Spike. "And when did you stop using the name Spike? Why Will?"  
  
Buffy turned and looked back at William, and saw his eyes were turning away from her, towards the dark haired beauty standing to the side of him. She slowly walked over. Buffy felt odd in the pit of her stomach, and started wondering just who this girl was.  
  
"Will? Do you like?" She asked softly when she reached their sides. Drusilla focused her sharp hawk-like eyes on the blonde in front of her, sniffed slightly, and turned her attention back to Will. William's eyes drifted back towards Buffy, and he began to open his mouth to reply.  
  
"Yes, Will. Do you like?" She drawled out softly, emphasizing the name Will as she talked. Will's eyes went sharply back to Drusilla's, and they peered sharply into her own innocent looking orbs.  
  
"Buffy, pet, I love it. Why don't you go get ready, and I'll meet you outside. I need a fag badly right now."  
  
"But Spiiiiiike, aren't you going to introduce me to your little girl?" Buffy's eyes went to Drusilla's at the mention of the moniker Spike.  
  
**TBC** 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
"Drusilla, I'd prefer that you don't use that name for me. It's part of my life that I dropped on its ass. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I'm going outside." Will looked apologetically towards Buffy, then turned and stalked silently away. Both girls watched him leave, and then Buffy turned to walk back to the dressing room. Before she got more then a step, however, Drusilla's manicured hand clutched tightly at the flesh of her upper arm, squeezing it tightly.  
  
"Look, little miss, you may be his new flavor, but he will be coming back to me. You had better not get to comfortable with him, because he always comes running back." Drusilla's eyes glittered dangerously as she eyed the blond in front of her. She let go with a bit of a shove, sending Buffy back from her. Before Buffy could refute the threat, Drusilla followed along behind William, and met up with him up near the front door. Buffy frowned, then turned, and entered the dressing room.  
  
As she pulled the shirt off, she noticed that Drusilla's 'claws' had cut in and left scratches. There was also the very beginning of a bruise on the skin, and she knew instinctively that it would be a bad one. She was cursing them both as she pulled on her own jeans and short sleeve shirt, and continued with the litany as she hung the clothes back on their hangers.  
  
When she came out of the small room, Will was alone out in front of the shop, dragging on a cigarette. She studiously kept her eyes off him, and went to pay for the skirt and blouse, and a necklace she found to match. After paying, Buffy turned to walk slowly through the store towards the door as thoughts jumbled themselves into her head.  
  
Hmm. I wonder what went on with them? She thought to herself as she came out and stopped in front of William. "So. um. lunch?" Buffy thought it best to just ignore the entire situation for now, so rather then bring it up, she brought up his growling need for lunch when she had started with more clothes just 15 minutes ago.  
  
Will looked up from the ground, where his booted foot was busy stepping on ants, and sighed almost too softly to be heard. "Yeah, pet. That sounds fine. Pizza Buffet?" He pushed his shoulders away from the glass storefront, and went to take the bag from Buffy, when he noticed the dark skin and scratches on her arm. "What the bleedin hell is that?" He pulled her arm gently towards him, and glanced darkly up at her.  
  
"It's nothing Will, can we just go get some pizza? I'm hungry, and a hungry Buffy is a crabby Buffy." She pulled her arm from him, and walked to Will's car. She turned and saw him standing still on the sidewalk, his open hand balling into a fist and opening again several times at his side. After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he turned towards her.  
  
"You're not going to tell me what I already know, so I won't press it, love, but if she ever comes near you again, you tell me." He said in a very quiet tone. Without another word, he got into the car, and waited for her to do the same.  
  
************  
  
"She said that, and you didn't kick her ass right there?" Xander was stuffing his face with a foot long sub that night in Buffy's room. Will had been shut away in his room most the day, presumably sleeping, while Buffy had spent the day walking on eggshells before going to the shop to work for a few hours.  
  
"We were in the middle of the shop. Besides, she walked away as soon as she shoved me away from her." Buffy had changed into a long sleeve top when they had arrived home, knowing that if Xander saw it, he'd flip. She told him a slightly edited version of the story, leaving that small part out.  
  
"So, you think they might have something going?"  
  
"Now? No way, but I know they did before, when she lived here. It's kinda gross thinking that I'm using a room she used to live in." Buffy glanced around at the walls surrounding her, and shivered dramatically. Xander crammed the last of the sub into his mouth, and wiped his chin with his sleeve.  
  
"Xander, you are such a pig." Buffy said with a roll of her eyes.  
  
"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Xander said innocently.  
  
"It is. Now, up, we need to hang this material, so I can feel a bit more private up here. Come on, get up!" She tugged on his arm, and then grabbed the roll of thick heavy canvas he had brought home for her. She planned to paint it to look like windows, complete with flowers boxes, and a sun peeking down. In the mean time, however, it would take the two of them nearly all night just to get the thing hung up right.  
  
*****  
  
"What in the hell, did they just not think someone might ever use this damn room for a bedroom?" Will's eyes opened with a start at the loud crash and the subsequent curse that came from Buffy's mouth. He sat up with a bit of a curse, and swung his bare legs over the side of his bed. After glancing at the clock, he ascertained that it was still too early to be up. Bloody hell, he thought.  
  
Tugging a pair of boxer shorts up, William stood up, and shook out the kinks he had gotten in his neck. He felt oddly drained and exhausted, and it took him a few minutes to realize that he had been reading over Dru's letters before going to sleep. They were enough to make the most hardened man ache in ways he shouldn't. Damn girl, I hope she sodden falls off a cliff. He pulled a pair of black jeans on, and left the room, leaving his upper half topless.  
  
He saw Buffy perched on top of the thin wall, and Xander standing below her, picking up a hammer from the floor. Xander looked up and smiled at him. "Hey you look. well, dead. Get some color, pasty boy." Buffy turned her head towards the sound of the voices as she held the roll of canvas up. She stopped moving, and she was pretty sure she stopped breathing as well, when she saw Will standing there shirtless. She must have made a noise, because both guy's attention turned towards her.  
  
"Guys, some help?" Buffy nodded up to the unrolled canvas she was supporting, all while perched on scant inches of wall, over looking a good 12 foot drop. Her arms dropped a bit more, and the canvas rolled towards the ground. She gripped it tighter, but she didn't look like she could much longer. William ran up the steps, taking them two at a time, and had his arm firmly wrapped around her legs as she lowered the canvas to him. Afterwards, she lingered for a moment as he held on to her. He was staring up towards her, and those damn fluttery feelings were hitting her again.  
  
He tugged her, and she came down towards him. William loosened his arms so that she slid against his body, until she was looking up at him, rather then down. The muscle in his jaw twitched slightly as he clamped his teeth together in a vain effort to stop him from wanting to lean in and kiss her gently. Just as she leaned up a bit, and he started to lean down slightly, Xander cleared his through. Loudly.  
  
With a slight groan, and a definite will power that was not his own, he set Buffy away from him, and glanced around at what she had managed to do to the room since moving in. He stepped back from the clutter, and sat the canvas down on the ground. "So, what's this project?"  
  
Xander walked further into the room, and kept casting odd glances towards Buffy, but she just turned away from him, and looked down at the canvas. "I am attempting, with Xander's help, of course, to put up a divider, so I don't feel so exposed up here. I love the space, but I don't ever feel private up here, I guess."  
  
"Well, then, I'll help, and you can supervise, cause I really don't want to see you up on that wall again. Ever."  
  
Buffy smiled and sat on a chair, delighted that she didn't have to do any of the actual work. She stretched back, and enjoyed the view that was William topless. 


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who is so closely following this story. I promise to get on with the spuffy lovin soon. Maybe even in this chapter. * wink wink *  
  
On the Giles front in chapter 1 & 2, I found that mistake a bit ago, and thought I had corrected it here, but apparently I didn't yet. * bonk self * Anyway, this chapter is a nice long one, over 2k words, so, enjoy. Oh, and I am pretty sure you will all love the ending. Don't worry, I just mean the end of this chapter, not of the story.  
  
*******  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Buffy ran into the shop, 5 minutes late again, due to a break down in the bus system. Her bus sputtered to a stop outside of the diner, and they had to wait for a new one to be called. At least this time, they were expecting her to be late. "Hi Tara! I'll be out as soon as I change!" She said quickly as she breezed through the small shop, and went into the back room.  
  
Pulling her hair from the ponytail, she grimaced at the site of it hanging limply around her shoulders. Buffy had an appointment the next morning to get it colored and cut, but in the mean time, it was a wreck. She turned her head upside down, and let her hair fall away from her face. As she brushed it vigorously, she could smell the grease stronger, and finally reached into her bag to pull out her vanilla body spray, and sprayed it copiously around her head before she resumed brushing it.  
  
Will was sitting in his uncle's tiny office, looking over the week's figures, and punching out numbers on the calculator. He had heard Buffy brush quickly through the back room, but had forced himself not to look up at her. Rather, he took in more numbers, studiously keeping the numbers from jumbling in his head. His Uncle had begun to count on Will for the accounting of the shop, so he had been stuck in the roll for almost a year now. His own Da had been an accountant, so Will took to it naturally, but he really didn't enjoy it.  
  
He heard the bathroom door open again, and caught a faint drift of vanilla. Will nearly groaned as he felt his body tighten, his over worked senses immediately identifying the scent as hers. "Will?" He looked up to see her standing there, her hair pulled up into a bun on her head. "Yes, Buffy?"  
  
"I was wondering if you had anything specific for me to do today?" She was switching her weight from foot to foot, bouncing back and forth slightly. He looks so cute in blue, she thought. It really brings out his eyes. oh, his eyes. She blinked, and focused back on his entire face, rather than staring dreamily into his eyes.  
  
"Oh, yeah, Uncle Rup left a list for you two to finish up. Mostly just cleaning up the sales racks and other such rot. Tara has it up front." Don't bloody focus on her scent, or her eyes, or her mouth. oh, her mouth. He nodded abruptly, and focused down on the papers in front of him, and felt his jaw clenching. Buffy waited another moment, then turned to walk from the room. He heard her greeting Tara again a moment later.  
  
"Bloody hell," Will said after trying to work for roughly ten minutes after Buffy left the office. He stood up, and tossed the ink pen he was clutching down to the desk. Walking towards the door, he grabbed his long leather duster as he left the room. As he came up front, he saw Buffy standing near the front, her arms stretched up to dust a top shelf full of 'spell' manuscripts. Her shirt had ridden up, and her smooth abdomen was pulled taut. Will found himself groaning again as his eyes devoured the smooth tan skin on her stomach.  
  
"Right, then," he said softly, and then cleared his throat. "I'm heading out to snag some food, anyone fancy?" He turned his gaze to Tara first, smiling at the effervescent young lady.  
  
"Where are you going to be stopping?" Tara asked in her soft voice. In another life, he would have loved her for being so sweet, so caring. But, that was another life, and another time.  
  
"Where ever you birds want. Just make a decision, and I'll go." And please, hurry about it. He turned towards Buffy again, and found her still stretching to dust, but she was looking over her shoulder towards him. Bloody hell, this is getting ridicules! "Buffy?"  
  
"Something cheesy and gooey sounds good to me. Cheese bread, or pizza, or mozz sticks. whatever." She smiled that charming beam, and he found himself staring intently towards her. Will was startled when he felt Tara's hand on his shoulder. She handed him a 5, and grinned. "Cheesy stuff sounds good to me, too. How bout a pizza?" She was looking into his eyes, and he had a feeling that Tara had seen how he was reacting to Buffy, if the slight smirk on her face was any indication.  
  
"Pizza it is then. Meat? Veggies? Fruit?" He asked as he tucked the money into his wallet.  
  
"No veggies. fruit? Ewwww." Buffy said loudly as she focused on the manuscripts. He looks so damn hot! How am I supposed to live with him, when he looks like that! Buffy found her head turning towards him again, but she stopped it, and strained her wayward gaze to the manuscripts once more. She focused on counting the books as she dusted, and when Will came closer, she was startled from her reverie.  
  
"Pizza's ordered, luv. Got $5?" Buffy blinked for a moment as she looked up into his eyes. She slowly brought her arms down, and nodded dim-wittedly. She handed him the duster, and dug into her pocket to pull out a folded up wad of bills. She unwrinkled the bills, and found a 5. Buffy quickly exchanged the bill for the duster, and tried to ignore the shocking thrill she received when her fingers brushed his.  
  
"That should do it, then. I'll be back in about 15." Will disappeared through the door to the shop, and Buffy found herself staring after him. She didn't notice when Tara came up beside her, also staring at the black clad retreating figure. "You like him, don't you?" Buffy looked towards Tara in surprise.  
  
"Don't be silly, I live with him, of course I like him." Buffy tried to brush it off, but she saw the mirth in Tara's eyes, and wound up blushing instead. "Ok, so maybe I do, so what? It's not like anything is gonna happen because of it." Tara's soft musical laugh sounded out in the empty shop. "What's so funny?"  
  
"You have no idea that he likes you, too, do you?" Just as Buffy was going to respond, the door opened again, and a tall dark haired man came in. Tara winked at Buffy, and then went to the man to ask if he needed any help.  
  
"Hello, my name is Tara. Is there anything I could help you locate?" Her soft voice asked him quietly.  
  
"Yeah, I'm looking for Spike." The man's face was set in a grim line of thinly veiled anger as he stared down at the petite blonde in front of him. "Tell him its Angelus."  
  
"Spike?" Tara asked softly, turning to glance at Buffy.  
  
"William, Spike. Peroxide blonde, arrogant, egotistical.?" Angelus spoke slowly, as though speaking to a child. She frowned as she caught his tone, and stepped back slightly.  
  
"Will isn't here right now. You can wait if you want, but we're not sure when he'll be back." She caught Buffy's eye as she lied, and saw Buffy nodding in agreement. Neither wanted him in there any longer then need be. Angelus noticed Tara looking behind him, and turned to see Buffy standing there, a duster in her hands, and some dust covering her nose in one place.  
  
"You the new roomie?" He raised an eye as he appraised her, and waited for her answer. His dark eyes were unforgiving and mocking as they swept down her body. She suddenly felt exposed and violated just being looked at. Unconsciously, Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Yes, I am the new roomie. You one of the old ones?" She really didn't want to be in any sort of conversation with him, but it was apparent he wasn't going to leave yet.  
  
"That'd be me. I suppose you're the piece of fluff this time around? Last time, it was Dru, at least, until I got there. She didn't want a boy when she could have a man." Buffy felt the butterflies that seemed to live in her belly acting up again, and could feel her hands shaking ever so slightly. Adrenalin is a bitch, she thought. She plastered a very fake feeling smile on her face, and looked at a point on his nose, so as not to have to actually look at him.  
  
"I'm not his anything, save for room mate. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Buffy turned from him, and muttered under her breath, "Work that doesn't include standing around getting insulted by a jack ass."  
  
Will unfortunately was right on time with the Pizza, and Angelus was still there, poking around the books for sale, and just generally annoying the two girls with his mere presence, which he assured them was something they should feel lucky for. Both Tara and Buffy exchanged silent looks of annoyance, and tried to ignore his over powering existence in the room. When Will came in the door, Buffy was quick to grab the box from him, and announce that she and Tara would be in back, and that he had a visitor.  
  
Before Will could respond the girls had disappeared into the back room, leaving him to glance about until his eyes settled on the smirking face of Angelus, his old room mate, and old friend. He hadn't been a friend since Drusilla, and Will was damned if he would be nice to the chap because of the history from before Dru.  
  
"Hello Spike. Dru tells me you two ran into each other yesterday. She said you were very rude and insulting to her. Is that anyway to treat a lady?"  
  
"Nope, it isn't, so it's a good thing I wasn't dealing with a lady. Now, do you have anything important to say, or can I just delete this conversation from my memory now?" Will crossed his arms as he leaned nonchalantly against a shelf near the door.  
  
"Spike, my boy, I would have thought we'd have put all that nasty business behind us by now. Isn't it time to get over petty childish arguments? It's been months. Now tell me about that hot little blond you've shacked up with." Will tensed and pushed himself away from the shelf with the ease of a panther, and moved his body fluidly towards Angelus. "Man, she looks like she could suck the paint off a car. So tell me, she any good? Feel up to sharing again?"  
  
As his tightly wound body got close enough to Angelus, Will's fist shot out quickly, and hit right on Angelus' nose. A loud screech emitted from Angelus' body as he flew back a bit. His hands went up to his nose, and came away with blood. "What the fuck was that for! It wouldn't be the first time we shared a piece of tail!"  
  
"Buffy is not something you'll ever get your hands on, and she isn't just a piece of tail. Get out of here. The site of you makes me sick. Oh, and tell the loony that she's not to come near Buffy again, or Buffy will press charges for yesterday's escapade. Now, get out." Will stepped back, and Angelus moved past him, holding his nose as blood dripped down to fall onto the carpet. Angelus turned to look back once more, leaving more spots of blood on the floor as he did.  
  
"You will live to regret what you just did, boy." With a flounce of floppy hair, Angelus was gone.  
  
Will glanced down at the carpet, then bellowed for one of the girls to bring him a scrub brush and some water. Buffy came out from the back room a moment later, while Tara vowed to stay out of their hair for at least a few minutes. Maybe a small spell to bring them together, she thought. No, they are better off discovering their feelings on their own.  
  
"Will? Here you go." She stood quietly for a moment after he thanked her for the bucket and brush, then she opened her mouth again. "Thank you. for sticking up for me. I appreciate it." Will stopped scrubbing for a moment, and looked up at her from his crouched position. There was a light right behind her head, casting a soft golden glow around her face from her hair. He muttered an oath, and stood quickly. Before she could react, his left hand wound behind her neck, and his right hand touched her cheek. His lips were suddenly on hers, searing hot, piercing through her futile resistance, and plundering her mouth deeply.  
  
Buffy was pretty sure she squeaked at first, but it only took a moment for her own hands to pull him closer. Tara peeked out, and smiled when she saw the two kissing. I knew I was right. I always am when it comes to love. Now, for my own love life, she thought with a bit of a dejected sigh at the end of the unfinished thought.  
  
After several moments of pure bliss, Will finally, and regrettably, pulled away from Buffy and opened his star filled eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, pet. Feel free to shoot me," he said in a very soft joking voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't fancy spending the next month getting jackass out of the rug." 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Buffy stared in disbelief as William pushed away from her and calmly started to scrub at the spots on the carpet. She brought her hand up to her utterly abused and tingling lips. Behind her, she could hear Tara giggling softly, and Buffy pulled herself from her dazed state to turn around and go into the back room. She glanced quickly towards Will as she disappeared through the back door, and then turned to look at Tara.

"See, I told you…" Tara said in a singsong voice as she went back to attacking the pizza in front of them. Buffy started to blush brightly, but then nodded mutely. 

*******

Buffy was up in her loft, all alone, and without him. She had retreated to the cozy room almost the instant she was in the apartment after Will brought her home. He had watched her bounce quickly up to her room, had been tempted to follow her, but had stopped him self. He could here her music playing softly, and could see the faint flickering of candles on the walls. They had gotten home nearly an hour before, and he felt she had enough time alone. Besides, he had to be to work soon. 

Starting up the steps, William trod quietly, his eyes focusing on a flicker of light on the ceiling. He saw her on the bed when the room came into view. Her long tanned legs were kicking at the air as she lay on her belly on her bed. A book sat in front of her, and as she read, her hand played with a twirl of hair. She had changed after work into a pair of boxer shorts and a black crop top. She had a towel on the floor from her exercises, and Will could smell the faint odor of sweat in the air.

"Buffy? Can we talk?" Will asked quietly. Buffy's head turned to look at him, and she smiled warmly as she sat up and nodded.

"I think it would be a good idea, all things considered." Buffy watched as he came further into the room. He pulled one of her chairs out, and turned it around to sit backwards on it, resting his arms across the back. Buffy grinned up at him, and waited for him to start.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier. It shouldn't have happened, and I promise I won't do it again, all right? I just don't any weirdness here, and at the shop." Will said softly, avoiding her eyes the entire time. Buffy's heart hitched for a moment as she replayed the words in her mouth, trying to decipher his meaning. As the words played over and over in her head, her face fell. _He didn't want it, _she thought_. He didn't want here, like I thought. He probably wants Dru still._

"Oh, oh… um, yeah, don't worry about it, it's no big deal. I promise… I won't hold it against you or anything." Buffy forced her voice to remain steady as she quietly spoke to him. His head shot up, and after a moment of shock, his face melted with relief. God, she didn't want it, did she, he thought_. Bloody hell, good thing I went with the apology rather then another kiss. She'd be moving out faster then shit, then._

"Yeah, well then, glad that's done. Want to do movies tomorrow? I don't work at all, so I can pick up some vid's and we can order pizza." It would be Saturday tomorrow, and it was what they had done the week before as well, though Xander had skipped out. "I can talk to Xander in the morning, see if he wants to as well?"

Buffy nodded and plastered a small smile on her face as she looked up at him. "Sounds fine. Comedy? Maybe something scary? Old cheesy scary, too, not new stuff, but like early 80's stuff." She had turned back to her book, but the words were starting to blur together as she looked at them. She heard Will get up and listened as he went down the steps. Her eyes tightened for a moment, and when she opened them to look back at the book, she saw two small wet blobs soaking into the thin paper.

Will watched her turn her focus to the book, and got up to leave. Half way down the steps, he stopped for a moment and clenched his jaw as his eyes screwed shut. She was up there alone, again, and he was going to bed, alone, again. Poetic justice, he thought. If she had been Dru, they wouldn't have made it past the first word without jumping each other, morals be damned. It's probably why he had the damn things now. No one likes to be stung twice. _What was that old song, Once Bitten, Twice Shy? How right those words were, _he thought. 

Buffy quickly dialed the number from the crumpled paper on her hands. One ring, and then two, Buffy was tapping her foot quickly as she waited for the phone to be picked up. She had gotten the number from Xander after talking with Will the night before. She had also extracted a promise from him to be home and in the living room that night. He had agreed on fear of her beating him up. 

"Hello?" Finally, Buffy thought.

"Hi... um, is Willow home?" She asked quickly to the unfamiliar voice that had answered the phone.

"No, she's over at Oz's studying. Can I give her a message?" The soft feminine voice asked her.

"Yes, please. This is Buffy; can you tell her to call me? Here's my number…" She rattled off the number to Xander's cell phone, and then hung the phone up. Damn, she had really needed her best friend right now, too. Buffy had lost contact with Willow in the last few months, with not being able to call each other at all, but right now, Buffy needed advice badly. She had ended up crying herself to sleep the night before after Will had left for work. 

She just didn't know how her feelings could have been so misguided with him. More then once in the past two weeks, she had gotten the feeling that he liked her as more then a roomie or a friend, too, but as soon as they acted on it, he freaked and said no. Buffy sighed and pulled herself from her bed to get ready for work. She had to be in at the diner until 4, and then she was done for the day, and had all day Sunday off, as well. 

Buffy pulled her still-blonde hair into a tight bun, and put the required hair net over it. She hated doing that, but hell, she hated the job, too. After pulling on her freshly laundered uniform, Buffy headed quickly down the stairs, and nearly ran into Will as he left his room. He looked like he had just woken up, and looked damn adorable. His chest was bare, his blonde locks tousled from sleep, and just a pair of red kissy face boxers. _Whoa, kissy face?_ She thought with a slight giggle, despite her depression over him.

"Uh, Will? Those are cute and all, but um, shouldn't you be a bit more… say, dressed?" He looked up towards her, and blinked the sleep from his eyes before glancing down. She vaguely heard the curse, Bloody hell, before he disappeared into the bathroom. Buffy shrugged, and headed out the front door, locking it behind her. Will came out of the bathroom, a robe on now, and looked for her, only to realize she was gone. _Damnit_, he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Buffy unlocked the door and walked in, kicking it shut with her foot after she entered. In her hands, she held a stack of mail that she was quickly flipping through. Her name caught her eye, and she pulled that one out, before walking to the kitchen table, and depositing the rest for Xander and Will to look through. On the corkboard hanging on the wall, a message for her caught her eye.

Buffy- Willow called, will call back later. 

Pulling the message down, she shoved it into her pocket, and made her way upstairs for fresh clothes. The cloying scent of grease was clogging her pores and taste buds. She got out a pair of well-worn jeans that hugged her curves nicely, and a black sweater. Both were nice and comfortable, so she wouldn't have to worry about wanting to change into pajamas during the movies later that night. She glanced at her side clock, and thought it was more then time to wake Will up.

Grinning at her evil thoughts, Buffy went into the kitchen first, and grabbed a few ice cubes. She moved quickly to Will's bedroom, and listened for movement first. After ascertaining that there was none, she slowly opened the door and peeped in. He was laying on the bed sound asleep with a sheet coming up to his waist. Taking only a moment to pause and take his form in appreciatively, Buffy moved silently towards him. 

A slight giggle threatened to escape, so she slammed her free hand over her mouth, then held the ice over his body, and tightened her grip. As her body heat melted the ice, she could feel her hand filling with icy liquid. Another moment, and she relaxed her fist, letting the cool water drop against his warm skin. Will grumbled in his sleep, and burrowed his head under the pillow, and then stopped moving again. 

Her sides began to twinge with her unreleased giggles, and she quickly dropped one of the two cubes on his neck. He jerked at that, and as he did, she lifted the sheet and tossed the second one down towards his legs. Buffy quickly turned towards the door, and had just made it to it when she heard his loud growl, and subsequent yelp.

"What the bloody hell!" She darted out the door, and stopped for a brief moment to look back towards him. _Oh, my god, he's… oh, lord, turn around,_ Buffy thought as she forced herself to turn around, and dash into the bathroom. She leaned back against the door, breathing hard as her mind kept slipping back to Will's naked form.

A scant moment later, he was pounding on the door. "Open the damn door, Buffy, you have paybacks coming!" 

"No way, not now, not ever!" Buffy found herself giggling as she stood in the bathroom. She had the door locked, but she wouldn't be able to stay in there forever. "Besides, it was more then time to wake up! You promised pizza and movies, and I saw neither!"

"Buffy! Lemme in!" He pounded again, before it abruptly stopped, and she started breathing easier when she heard him walk away. Buffy glanced down at her clothes, and groaned, remembering that she had left her clean clothes upstairs in her hurry to wake Will up. Sighing, Buffy glanced around the room for her robe, and didn't see that, either. She saw Will's hanging up on the back of the door, and that was all, except for some towels. Just as she stepped to the shower to turn it on, she heard the knob rattling again. 

Before she had a chance to prop her body against it again, Will had it unlocked, and came charging through, his hand bulging with ice. "Payback time, Summers!" She squealed and tried to scurry around him, but his arms circled around her waist, and dragged her close to his body. As she struggled to get away, he managed to get a few cubes down the back of her uniform, which caused a loud squeal to emit from her. 

As she squirmed, he started to tickle. She managed to wiggle her body down his, until she was nearly out of his arms and on the floor. Unfortunately, he followed, and soon, they were rolling around the floor of the bathroom, his fingers arching and bending against her skin, and her body responding likewise. As suddenly as the attack started, they both stopped, he with his upper body leaning over her, and her looking up at him from the floor. 

Without thought to the action, his head dipped down, and he claimed her mouth with his own. It was soft and teasing, unlike their previous kiss. His tongue swept out to dance across her lips, but as she opened her mouth to give it access, he pulled it back, and started to gently suck and nibble on her lower lip. Gasping in surprise and delight, Buffy's eyes closed and her head slanted back ever so slightly. Her fingers found the short curls at the nape of his neck, and wound through them to pull his head as close as she could get it.

Feeling exploded in Will's body as he savored her skin. _Strawberries,_ he thought, _she tastes like strawberries in the summer. _He maneuvered his body over hers, and felt her legs part to embrace him against her body. Her legs didn't open that wide, due to the uniform she was wearing, but it was enough contact to send his previously dizzy emotions reeling. 

Will's tongue moved back over her lower lip, soothing the plump flesh. Finally, though, his tongue dipped into her searing mouth, and tasted her fully. Under him, as he tasted her, she wiggled her bottom around until her legs were liberated of the bottom of the dress. She wrapped the legs around his waist completely then, and locked her ankles to hold him where he was. 

Moaning her name out, he pulled back just enough to look down into her face. Her eyes were ablaze with passion, just as he knew his own were. She nodded to his unasked question, and his mouth was back on hers, harder and more passionately this time. His lower body began to rub against her gently, massaging her thighs with his rough hastily thrown on jeans. 

"Wow, and I thought walking in on my parents would be scarring!" Xander's voice penetrated the fog of her mind, and Buffy pulled back her head as Will sat up off her. Before he moved completely, he helped her tug her uniform back down. She was beet red as her eyes avoided Xander's as she scooted to a standing position. She heard a feminine giggle behind her, and turned. To her acute mortification, Willow was standing behind Xander now.

"Buffy, I must say, this is a side I haven't seen since- well, ever. Cute panties, where'd you get em?" Willow was grinning ear to ear as Buffy sat there, horrified. Will stood up, and shooed Xander and Willow out the door before casting a glance back at Buffy. 

"Hey, you alright?" She looked up, still as red as a tomato, and nodded. "Right then. You gonna shower, or what?"

"I need to take a shower. Oh, can you do me a favor?" Buffy asked softly. 

"Sure pet, what is it?" 

"In my hurry to attack you with the ice, I left my clean clothes upstairs. Can you grab them off my bed? It's the jeans and black pullover."

"Right, then. I'll be back down in a moment." He winked and disappeared out the door. Buffy sat quietly for a moment, and let her mind drift back to the bliss she felt a few moments before utter and total humiliation set in. She heard Xander introducing Willow to Will, and a minute later, he was knocking on the door, and passing her clothes to her. 

"I'll be out in a few, alright?" 

"Take your time, love. When you get out, we can go pick out some video's, if you want?" She nodded, and he smiled before closing the door.

Buffy smiled the entire time she was in the shower. 

***AN: Ok, was that enough to appease the Spuffy requirements for now? ;)


	10. Chapter 10

Authors Note: First, I want to thank all of you for the wonderful reviews that I have gotten in the last few days. It really helps my writing to know that so many people love this story as much as I do.

Next, one review mentioned Will/Spike being a vampire, but I assure you he is not. He is just as human as Buffy. He does go out mostly at night, but he works a 3rd shift job. He has been seen during the day, however (Chapters 5-6 in which he and Buffy go shopping during the day)

Anyway, I hope that clears up any confusion on the matter! Keep reading, more spuffiness to come!

Chapter 10

Will came out and grinned at Xander briefly, before sliding into his room. He stalked around the room, willing his body to stop thinking about how Buffy felt under him, her legs cradling him to her. Groaning, he flopped down face first on the bed, and buried his head under a pillow while growling loudly. Will say back up, tossed the pillow to the side, and went to his closet. 

Flipping through the clothes, he finally came to a black silk shirt, and he tossed it to the bed, where it flittered down softly. Next, he grabbed out a sapphire long sleeve shirt, a nice tight one. Drusilla had once said it made the girls melt to see him in blue. Grinning at that piece of advice, he pulled the sapphire shirt over his muscular frame, and tugged the silk on over it, leaving it unbuttoned to hang down around his lean waist.

Will looked in the mirror and ran his hands through his sleep-tousled hair, and smiled. Grabbing the hair gel, he put a dab on his palm, and raked his hand back through the hair, causing it to spike upward slightly. Grinning at his reflection, he left the room, grabbing his wallet off his dresser, and stuffing it in his pocket. He came out to find Willow and Xander talking at the kitchen table. He waved quickly, and sat down at the computer.

Flipping it on, he waited for it to start up, then entered in his password. He had split it into separate log in's, so that everyone could have their own backgrounds and colors, and save their own things. After entering in his stuff, he hit the internet icon, and waited while it connected. As soon as it was connected, he looked up his email, but there was nothing there. Scowling at the empty box, he went through a few of his favorite sites, and thumped his hands against his legs in nervous energy. 

Finally, he heard the shower turn off, and he stood up, getting ready to leave. He shut the computer back down after the page he wanted finished loading_. Damn, no new Fanfics to read. Bloody hell,_ he thought. He glanced back at the door to the bathroom, and heard a hair dryer going. He started to pace around the living room like a caged animal.

Five minutes later, he heard the dryer shut off, and walked towards the door to the bathroom with a smile on his face. He heard drawers opening and shutting as he stood there. Grumbling, he went back to pacing.

It was another 10 minutes before she emerged from the bathroom, her hair dried into straight chunky sections down her shoulders. Her makeup was light, and he smelled a light scent of vanilla. Smiling, he walked over to her.

"You finally ready, ducks?" He winked at her and she smiled shyly up at him. 

"Yeah, I'm ready." She walked to the kitchen, and over to Willow. Leaning down, she gave Willow a hug, and kissed her forehead. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming home for the weekend? We're headed to grab movies, wanna come?"

Willow smiled up at Buffy and stood up with a nod. "Yeah, I can come with. I didn't tell you, cause you weren't home when I called." Buffy laughed and nodded, then looked towards Xander.

"You coming, pig?" Her eyes were twinkling as she looked towards him, his mouth half open with food.

"Muhm hum," was his reply. She blinked and he made a show of swallowing the food, then said, "Uh huh."

Buffy chuckled, and walked towards the door, and left the apartment, followed by Will, Xander, and lastly, Willow. 

***

At the video store, they split into two's, Will and Buffy, Xander and Willow. Will was ribbing Buffy over her choice of The Breakfast Club, while she was rolling her eyes at his insistence that Death Faces 5 was a classic horror flick. She just shook her head, put it back on the shelf, and walked towards the back. Will chuckled as she walked away from him, and picked the movie back up. He started towards her again, a huge pleased grin on his face. 

As he caught up to Buffy, he surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist, and tugging her back against his chest. "What are you going to find in the classical romance section, ducks?" Will whispered in her ear, letting his breath brush gently against her ear. He smiled in delight when he felt a small shiver go through her body.  
 

"Will!" She turned around, though he didn't let go, so she was pulled closer to him until their chests met. Giggling, she started to blush as Will dipped down and brushed his nose against hers. 

"So, you two gonna suck face, or pick something to watch tonight?" Willow said from somewhere behind Will. Buffy pulled her face away and peered over Will's shoulder. 

"I already picked up The Breakfast Club. What did you guys find?" Buffy said as she disentangled herself from Will's arms. She noticed the fleeting look of disappointment that crossed over his features when she moved, but he quickly composed himself. 

"Xander wants to rent Death Star 5, but I used my vetoing power to go against that one." Willow beamed as she stood there beside a scowling Xander. "I made him pick a comedy, so we ended up with Love Stinks. It looks funny, it has one of the guys from 3rd Rock from the Sun in it."

Will stepped back and showed Xander his choice, only to earn a high five. "He gets to pick that, and I have to settle for a romantic comedy?!?!? What's up with that?"

"Hey, I put that back! All right, if she gets to veto, so do I! VETO!" Buffy snatched the video from his triumphant hand, and set it back on the shelf, again. 

"Buffy! Awww, come on! We can watch it later, after your chick flicks!" Both Xander and Will were whining then, and Buffy glanced at Willow, who got a wicked gleam in her eye before nodding towards Buffy.

"All right, you guys can have it. On one condition. You have to watch any movie we want to watch, first." Xander went pale, and backed off, but Will just nodded happily, and snatched the video back up from the shelf. 

"You birds have a deal."

Xander shook his head as he walked up to the front of the shop. "Man, you have no idea what you just asked for…" Xander said, his voice trailing off as he walked away, his shoulders slumped in defeat. 

"Xander? What do you mean, man? Xan? Hey, mate? Xander?" Will's voice trailed off as he trotted after Xander. 

The girls exchanged a look, and started picking up more videos. The deal for the night was seven videos for seven nights, for seven dollars. They quickly picked out the remaining 4 videos, and walked to the front. Setting the display of romantic comedy down on the counter, they smiled innocently towards the guys.

"There, some nice video's to keep us occupied all nice long."

The ride home was uneventful, and as soon as they were in the door, Will ordered 3 pizza's to be delivered, complete with cheese bread, and soda. By the time he was done, the girls had each claimed their spots, leaving the floor for the guys. Willow was kicked back in his chair, and Buffy had sprawled out over the sofa. With a gleam in his eye, he went over, picked her legs up, and slid under them, leaving a hand to rest gently on her calf. 

Buffy looked down towards him with a flutter in her belly. Buffy smiled at him, and turned to watch the video Xander had put in first. They settled in comfortably to watch the video and wait for the pizza. As Buffy sat still, Will's hand would occasionally rub her leg gently, causing ripples of pleasure to course through her body. They were still sitting that way when the pizza guy came with the food. The three roommates all just looked at each other, wondering who would get up first, when Willow sighed in mock exasperation, and went to let him in, and pay for the food. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Two pizzas and a lot of soda later, Buffy got up to use the bathroom. Her nerves were going haywire, with Will just sitting down there, barely touching her skin with the lightest of touches. She shut the door behind her, and stared into the mirror. Her skin was flushed, as she knew it would be. Reaching into her makeup drawer, Buffy pulled out some powder, and quickly brushed it over her skin. Next, she put on some more deodorant, just to be safe, and then sprayed her self with Vanilla Bean body spray. Taking another minute to breath, she flushed the toilet, and left the room.

While she was in the bathroom, Will had slipped down to a laying position on the couch, and he smiled up at her in his natural cocky look. He slid over enough that she could squeeze onto the edge with his arm under her. Buffy tugged at her lip for a moment, then just overcame her nervousness, and slid onto the couch. Will's arms immediately surrounded her waist possessively. 

Buffy stiffened for a brief moment, then relaxed against him. She felt his nose nuzzling against her hair, and could feel his warm breath against her skin. As the second movie of the night played on, Buffy let her eyes drift shut, so she could imagine what it would feel like to sleep with his arms snuggly tightened around her, as they were now. To feel his warm soothing breath against her ear like this, and to feel his body as he wiggled and moved behind her. 

Will watched the movie for a moment, and then let his eyes shut as his hand rubbed warming circles on her belly. She felt like heaven in his arms, just as he knew she would. She was vanilla and warm cookies, sweet strawberries, and tart cherries all in one. And God help him, he wanted her like he had never wanted another person before. He wanted her to be his. 

The movie ended all to soon, and Buffy found herself not wanting to budge at all, but she did sit up, and then forced her legs to stand. Willow was half asleep in the chair, and Xander was looking tired as well, on the floor in front of the chair. She walked over and flipped the TV off, and glanced back at the sleepy crew. 

"Willow, you planning on going to your parents, or what?" Buffy asked softly as she looked on the sleepy girl.

Yawning, Willow sat up and glanced at the clock. It was already after midnight, and she was tired. "I didn't tell my parents I would be in town, and I'm kinda not wanting to drive home. Don't suppose you guys would let me crash here, would ya?"

Chuckling, Buffy nodded. "You can take my bed, I'll sleep down here." She started walking up the stairs, Willow right behind her, when Will spoke up. 

"Buffy, I can take the couch, Willow, you can use my bed, it's clean, I promise. Besides, Buffy, you have to work tomorrow, and I don't. Wouldn't want your muscles all achy. 

Buffy glanced at Willow, who just shrugged sleepily, and nodded. "Ok, then, come on, I got jammies for you." The two girls disappeared up the steps, leaving Xander and Will downstairs. 

"So, what's the deal with you and Buffy?" Xander's voice was quiet as he spoke, so as not to let the girls over hear. 

"I don't really know yet, whelp. I really don't know yet." Xander stood up and stretched before looking towards the blond, and nodding curtly. 

"You hurt her, and…" He left the rest unsaid.

"I know, Xander. I can promise you, I'd never intentionally do anything to hurt her." Xander studied the young man in front of him for another moment, then nodded again, and left the room. William went into his room, and cleared off the bed for Willow, before grabbing a pair of thick black cotton boxers and a black tee shirt from his drawers. As he came out, Willow was walking down the stairs, clad in a pair of Buffy's flannel pajama bottoms and a tank top. 

She passed Will and winked with an embarrassed laugh. "Buffy wanted to know if you guys could talk for a bit before you go to bed. She's upstairs waiting for you."

Willow disappeared into the bathroom, and shut the door with a soft click as Will watched her. He turned his head towards the loft, and stared up at the canvas wall she had created. Tossing the boxer shorts and a blanket onto the couch, he took a deep breath and calmed his nerves. After another moment, he started up the steps, and paused just before the top. _It's now or never_, he thought as he took in a deep breath, and crossed the threshold into her room.

She was lying on the bed, clad in a blue camisole top and matching baggy drawstring pants with small fish printed on them. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail at the nape of her neck. When she heard him, Buffy looked up and smiled shyly to him. 

"Hey," she said tenderly when he lingered near the stairs still. "I thought maybe we should talk, because… well, I just thought it would be best if we cleared up this thing." Buffy was nervously twisting her hands together in her lap as she talked in her gentle voice. 

He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and watched her as he leaned his trim frame against the wall. "Yeah, I s'pose that's a good idea, pet." Will kept his eyes trained on her as she stood up from the bed to walk over to him. _She was so tiny_, he thought, _barely comes up to my chin. All that feistiness and passion in one small body. _Without realizing it, he had begun to grin at his thoughts, and at this girl standing before him.

Once she reached him, Buffy looked up, a twinkle in her eye as she regarded the grin on his face. "So? What is this thing?" She was hesitant to give it a label. Buffy knew all to well that he wasn't ready for a relationship with her yet, if their conversation the other night was any indication. 

"Well, ducks, I guess it depends on you." His heart felt like it was going to burst through his chest it was beating so hard. He took in a slow deep breath in an attempt to calm the racing organ, but it was doing little good. Will felt the sweat pooling on his forehead as he waited on her. 

"M- me?" She stuttered out quickly as her eyes opened wide. "What do you mean, on me? You mean I have to decide?" She knew she was rambling, as her nervous habit of pacing and rambling took over. Her hands were tossing in the air as she paced around in front of him, quietly going onto a litany of sentences, all of which were aimed at her self. "He expects me to tell him where he stands with me? What like I'm supposed to figure it all out? I mean, sure, I know how I feel, but-"

Will reached out and quickly put a stop to the pacing. Her eyes shot up to his as she recalled that he was in the room. Hot blood rushed to her cheeks as she replayed her 'thoughts' in her head. "Oh, god, I was talking out loud, wasn't I?" At his nod, she ducked her head, only to have his finger pull her chin back up until she was looking in his eyes. 

"Buffy, would you like to go out with me tomorrow night, after work? Dinner and movie, and all that rot?" Will kept his voice low as he stared into her eyes, losing himself in the depths he found there. Slowly, the blush abated, and she was left with a shy smile on her lips. 

"I think I would like that, Will." He smiled then, a relieved smile, and bent down to kiss her tenderly on the forehead.

"Right then. Off to bed with you, you need to get some sleep before work." Will said as he stepped back away from her, and without another word, slipped quickly down the steps, his steps light and bouncy. Will grabbed up his boxers and disappeared into the bathroom. From the top of the stairs, Buffy watched in bewilderment that he had left her. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Buffy looked at the reflection in her mirror and suppressed a groan. She had 30 minutes to get showered, changed, and have her hair and makeup done perfectly. She had gotten caught in a brief but powerful rainstorm while waiting for the bus, so her soft blond hair became a stringy wet disaster. Black raccoon rings dripped around here eyes from wearing the wrong choice in mascara. 

By the time she stripped down to step into the shower, she was shivering with chills. Buffy quickly cleaned up, and hopped back out of the shower in a matter of moments. Twisting and turning her body at impossible angles, she managed to slide her legs into a jean skirt, while at the same time putting on her deodorant. She twisted into a long sleeve blouse, and pulled on a pair of boots, and stood up to inspect the overall package. The hair dryer on high, she furiously brushed her hair into soft waves, before applying a thin coat of gloss and mascara. 

Standing back just a bit, she against studied herself in the mirror, and was pleased with the reflection this time. With a quick spritz of vanilla, she was out the door and into the living room to wait. She glanced at the clock and saw that she still had nearly ten minutes of time left yet. She smirked proudly as she sat down on the sofa to wait for Will. He was coming straight from the shop, so he should be there soon. 

*

_Sweet Jesus, I convince her to go on a date with me, and I'm going to wind up being late_, Will thought with a curse. He stood on the side of the road looking at the smoking engine, and felt the desire to hurt something. Will looked at the cars rushing past him, and roughly kicked the tire of his misbehaving car. Running a hand through his hair, he leaned back against the car, and crossed his arms, all while hoping that someone would have pity on him, and stop. 

*

Buffy glanced at the clock again, and finally gave in to her urges to check on him. Dialing quickly, she called the shop, but got no answer. _That means that he's already locked up, so maybe he's on his way home now, _she thought. She went back to pacing, and occasionally glancing outside. Finally, she went in to Xander's room, and shook him awake. He had been sleeping since that afternoon, so she didn't feel the least bit bad in waking him.

"Xander! Wake up!" She heard a muffled groan as his head slid under a pillow. "Xander, Anya's here, and she's NAKED!" Xander sat up so quickly that he knocked Buffy back off the bed. 

"Where? What-?" His sleep filled eyes landed on the slightly miffed form of Buffy on his floor, and his watchful eyes turned into a glower. "Buffy, that isn't nice, you know!"

"I know, but Xander, I'm worried! Will was supposed to close up the shop at 8, and be here to pick me up by 8:30. It's almost 9, and I haven't heard a thing from him."

"And this is my problem because...?" 

"Xander! Help me find him! What if something horrible happened? He could be lying somewhere… in a ditch! I didn't ever think ditches could be bad, but mom said they were, and look, it could have claimed a new victim!" As she rambled, Buffy paced back and forth in Xander's room, not even watching him now, but rather staring at a distinct spot off in space.

Xander groaned and flopped back on the bed before burying his head under the pillow again.

*

"Thanks for stopping, mate. I was beginning to think I'd be stuck out there all night waiting for a ride. Buffy's gonna kill me when I walk in." Will glanced out the window to where to tow truck was hooking his car up, and then glanced back at the guy who had stopped to pick him up. His name was Aaron, and he had a cell on him, and had called a tow truck. 

"Buffy?" Aaron asked absent-mindedly. "Oh, yeah, the girl you're rushing off to. Here, give her a call, and let her know you're on your way." Riley handed him the cell phone again, and Will threw him a grateful smile. He quickly dialed the home number, and waited while it started to ring. A breathless Buffy answered a moment later, as though she had run to the phone. 

"Will? Hello?" He chuckled as a smile widened across his features. "Yeah, Buffy, this is Will. Had a spot of car troubles, but I'm almost home now. I'll be up in about ten?" 

"Oh, I'm so glad you called. I was getting worried. I'll see you when you get here. Bye!" He said his own good byes, and quickly hung up, then handed the phone back to Aaron. Before long, they were pulling up in front of the house, and he could see Buffy's face at the window, anxiously watching for him. As soon as she saw him getting out of the guy's truck, her anxious expression turned into a beautiful smile, all for him. Aaron glanced up to where Will was looking, and smiled himself. He quickly said his good byes, and headed to his own house, where his wife was waiting for him.

Will disappeared into the apartment complex, and took the stairs leading up two at a time. When he reached the top, she was standing there with the door open. He reached her, and his arms slipped around her waist before pulling her close. "Sorry I'm late, beautiful." He whispered against her temple as he held her close.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," was all Buffy said back as she let him hold her close.

**AN: It's a bit shorter then I normally would have wrote, but I'm leaving for thanksgiving, and I promised a chapter before I left. Here it is. 


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Sorry it's taken so long, please, stop trying to shoot me! I tried and tried to write the actual date, but it would NOT come to me, and I've been trying since Thanksgiving! So, I decided to put in bits from their date, while Buffy tells Willow about it.

Chapter 13

Buffy lay on her back, her fingers twirling around the phone cord as she laughed into the purple phone she had for her room. Her long blonde hair was spread all around her, and her feet were bouncing back and forth to the soft music she played on her stereo. Willow was on the phone, demanding details from her, while Buffy tried to paint the nails on her toes, before finally giving up, because she was too giddy.

"So, you guys ate, and? Do I really have to keep begging for the 'sip here, Buff?"

"We just… talked, that's all, Wills. It was nice, though, relaxing and easy going. Oh, he is so nice, though, Willow. I think I could fall in love with him so easily! He held out the chair, too, did I tell you that already? He was just so chivalrous. He held the door open when we left the apartment, and opened the cab door for me."

"So… major sparkage? Come on, dish, girl. Was there smoochies?"

Buffy blushed and looked over towards the stairs, out of habit. She didn't see anyone, though, so she let go of the breath she had been holding, and a huge grin lit up her face. "Oh yeah, total sparks, and some very nice smoochies at the end of the night. And maybe one or two while we were in the theater."

"You slut! Oh, my god! Buffy, that's awesome!" Willow said loudly, before she squealed with laughter. "So, what's going to happen? You did NOT sleep with him… did you?"

"Willow! No! I did NOT sleep with him… he was a perfect… well, almost perfect, gentleman. We talked for a while on the couch, and he told me quiet honestly, that he wasn't sure we should take it any farther just yet. He said he wanted it to be perfect for both of us. God Wills I can't believe what all we talked about last night. I felt so comfortable with him. I even told him about Parker." 

Parker had been a mistake Buffy had made in high school, one that she refused to make again. It was part of why she almost never dated anymore. Willow and Xander had both been on her case about the dating part, though neither ever mentioned Parker outright anymore. It just made Buffy more adamant against dating, and more upset with them, in the mean time.

"Oh?" Willow's voice was bordering on disinterested, but Buffy knew she was dying to ask the gory details. "Um… so, what else did you talk about?"

"Oh, just ask it, I know you want to." Buffy said smugly into the receiver. 

"What exactly did you _tell_ him about Parker? I mean, come on, it's not exactly date material."

"I told him the truth, all of it. From the first time he said he loved me, until the moment he ditched me at Prom." Buffy took in a deep breath, and forced the rage boiling in her stomach to die down. She could barely even think of the events of prom night without going a bit loopy. Parker had been her crush from the first time she had seen him, in the 10th grade, up until he had asked her out, in the 12th grade. Buffy had been on cloud 9 for a full week, drifting happily from class to class, not worrying about anything.

Prom came only a few weeks after their first date, and though Parker had just broken up with his long time girlfriend, he was eager to take Buffy in Jessica's place. Jessica was a very popular girl, and not to happy about the turn face Parker had done. She had dumped him, but in an ironic twist of fate, she herself ended up dateless for Prom, and had thought Parker would just come back, and take her anyway.

Buffy had been ecstatic when Parker turned Jessica down, but she couldn't understand some of the smug looks Jessica and friends were giving her on prom night. After dancing and some mild drinking, Parker had taken Buffy upstairs, and proceeded to deflower his date. He wasn't rough about it, but neither was he gentle or loving. Afterwards, Buffy had been confused, and just felt that she should be held. Parker just laughed at her, put his tux back on, and took the key off the dresser. 

His parting comment had been, "It was fun. We should get together again when I'm back for Christmas break." The final blow, however, had been when she ventured down the stairs quickly, her dress back in place, though her hair was mussed. As she came down the grand staircase, Buffy had seen Parker and Jessica against a wall, Parker's mouth all over Jessica's neck. She had run from the hotel in tears that night, and had walked the long distance back to her home. By the time she had made it home, her tears were dried up, and all she felt was anger. 

It had been weeks later, in the middle of planning her freshmen year of collage, when she found out she was pregnant. Fortunately for her, she had miscarried the child. At the time, she saw it as a relief, but every now and again, when she started thinking of it, Buffy wondered what the child would have been like, had she had the child. 

"Even…?" Willow's voice probed, breaking into her thoughts.

"Ok, so not everything. I stopped after the prom incident. No need to tell him the rest of it, I figure." Buffy said softly, shaking thoughts of the unborn child away. She let her mind drift back to Will, and her serious expression turned back into a slow smile. "Anyway, tomorrow we work together, and he asked if we could go to dinner together afterwards. I like him, Wills, I really do." 

"Well, it's about time! You've moped around long enough. Oh, hey, do you mind if I stop by to see you at the shop tomorrow? I have to pick some things up at home, and while I was in town, I thought I would do some shopping. I wanted to pick up some candles, and figured that's a good place to look." Willow was a collector of odd candles, and had been collecting them for almost a year now. Just about every surface in her dorm was covered with them, not to mention the many boxes stored back at home, in her parents place. 

"Oh, you're going to be in town? For how long? Why didn't you say something sooner?" Buffy rapidly asked her friend.

"Question much? Mom called, and said she has some paperwork that I need to fill out for insurance, or something, and wanted me to do it as soon as I could. I have a free day tomorrow, so figured I'd come see you guys. So, I can stop by the shop?"

"Yeah, no biggie. I'll be there after 5 ok? I should let you go, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, night Buffy."

"Night Willow."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Buffy sat down with her bowl of cinnamon toast crunch, and looked out the window. It was raining, again. Had been for days, actually. She knew that eventually, the weather would cause her to snap into bitchy Buffy mode, but for now, she could be content in knowing that she had the morning off, and wouldn't have to venture into work until much later.

Will was due from work soon, and she already had his bowl of cereal and his coffee set out and waiting. All it needed was the cream for the coffee and the milk for the cereal. A wisp of hair fell into Buffy's face, and she groggily pushed it back, and tucked it behind her ear. Buffy wondered for the fifth time that morning, just why she was getting up so early for breakfast. 

As she wondered, she saw Will pull up in his newly fixed car, and she knew the reason why. He pushed the rain off his bleached hair, and pulled the leather coat tighter around him. As he came towards the stairs, he looked up, and his eyes met hers through the window. With a smile and a wave, he disappeared from her eye site range. As he disappeared, she stood up, and poured milk into his bowl, and got his flavored cream from the fridge. She was just pulling her robe tight and sitting back down when he unlocked the door and came in.

"Morning, Will. Made you breakfast this morning. I got all domesticated and stuff." Buffy's tone was light as she smiled towards him, and indicated a place to sit next to her at the table.

"Breakfast? For me? What's the occasion, pet?" Will smirked as he hung his leather jacket up in the closet, and took his work boots off. Shaking his hair out again, Will pushed the damn locks back, and came over. "Cereal… how domesticated you are!" Will said to her with a twinkle of mirth in his eyes.

"Hey, I poured the milk, AND, I got out the bowls. Now, stop complaining, sit, and eat. Or, I'm going back to bed!" Buffy shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, and forced her adoring eyes to scowl up at him. _Damn him, why does he have to be so cute? And those cheekbones! GRRRR_, thought Buffy. He chuckled before leaning in and tweaking her nose with his thumb, and then sat to eat his own cereal. 

"How was work last night?" Buffy asked between spoonfuls. 

"Eh, work is work. You got the morning off, though, don't you? No work till tonight?" Will pushed the odd cereal around with his spoon, wondering just what it was. "Pet, what do you have me eating?" 

"Cinnamon toast crunch. It's good, I promise. Just eat, Will. And yes, I have this morning off, which is why I am now wondering just why I got up this morning." Buffy grumbled the last part gruffly as she shoveled another spoonful into her mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, she beamed innocently at his wounded look. After swallowing the cereal down, she looked at him for a moment. "Oh, wait, that's right. I got up so I could take a nice long bath, all by my lonesome." 

Glancing down at her bowl, she realized it was gone, so Buffy stood up, and carried the bowl to the sink, and dumped the milk out. Glancing back behind her, she almost started giggling at the incredulous look on Will's face. She started giggling, and he growled low in his chest. With a louder growl, he lunged from the chair at her. Buffy squealed, and a moment later, tore out of the room, Will just a hands width away from her. 

Buffy scurried up the stairs into her room, and slid over top of the bed. She stopped and turned to look. Will stood on the other side of the bed, a predatory look gleaming in his eyes. She started around it, and he quickly followed her steps. Stopping, she looked over to the other side, and started for it. When he quickly leaped over the bed, and Buffy dashed around the foot of the bed. 

Halfway around, however, Will caught her around the waist, and tugged her down onto the bed with a loud squeal. With a flurry of limbs, and cold wet hair being rubbed against her exposed neck, the two wrestled around on the bed, tossing pillows and blankets to the side as they moved. After several moments, and some loud panting on both their parts, Will came to a stop above Buffy, her arms pinned above her head in one of his hands, and the other hand shoved under her robe, and splayed across her side. 

Both stopped moving almost at the same instant, and bright blue eyes met hazel. Her lips parted just barely, and before she could say a thing, his head dipped down, and his lips met hers in a soft kiss. It was tender, searching at first. After she gained her bearings back, Buffy let her own mouth slip open, and his tongue delved inside. He caressed her, sought comfort from her own tongue. Soon, however, the gentle kiss grew to something more, and Will felt his body responding in a fast and hard manner. 

Buffy's legs parted, and came to wrap around his waist. With no preamble, she pulled him firm against her as her hands tugged to gain their freedom. Her tongue and his battled for dominance, both eager to prove to the other their own personal worth. Under him, Buffy's body melted like butter, molding to him. Will pulled his head back, much to Buffy's dismay, though when she started to whimper at the loss of his heat, he quickly obliged by moving his lips to her neck.

Slowly, as though not even aware he was doing it, Will let her hands go, and moved both his own to push the fabric of her robe away. One hand slid up the side of her pink camisole top, while the other gently kneaded at her breast. Buffy felt her world spinning, and where her skin was exposed, she felt the heat of desire, the warmth of Will's skin, and the cold blast of air. It was intoxicating.

Will's mouth moved across her jaw, and down to her collarbone, before sweeping up to capture her mouth once more. Finally, when the need for air became to much, he pulled back. Both Buffy and Will were panting, their eyes wide as they stared at each other.

"I knew it would be fire. Fire and strawberry's, Buffy, that's what you taste like." Will said softly as he stared down into her hazel eyes. "And… as much as I would love to finish this, I don't think we should yet. And did I really just say that out loud? Wanker!" He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them to look back down at Buffy.

"Yes, you did, but I… as much as I hate to, agree. We should wait." Buffy let her legs slip from his hips, and she stared up into his blue eyes. With a half smile, Will rolled off of her, and onto his back on her bed. She pushed herself up on her elbows, and looked over at him. "But, if you don't mind… could you stay up here? With me? I need some more sleep, and I know you need to sleep, and… well…" Buffy trailed off, and looked down to hide the bright flush of her cheeks.

"I would love to, pet." Will replied softly. She looked up with a smile, and nuzzled her head into his neck. They both sighed softly as Will's arm slipped around her waist to pull her closer. It wasn't long before both were sound asleep, their smiles matching.


	15. Chapter 16

**_AN: Sorry it's been so long in coming! I've suddenly went from 1 website for my own stories, to helping out on a new archive (www.recklesspassions.com) to completely re-doing a gaming site from scratch! I lost track of my writing, but hopefully, I will at the very least, finish out the stories I have open. I hope. _**

****

**_Also- keep in mind that chapter 15 is my smut chapter. You can find that at my site, or at the spuffy archives! Only over 17, please!_**

Chapter 16

Buffy awake slowly, her body drifting away from the languid sleep. As her mind came awake, she slowly stretched her lithe body against the cool sheets, and smiled. Buffy's arm slowly reached to the side, and came up empty. Opening her eyes, she propped herself up on her elbows, and glanced at the empty space beside her. The pillow was still indented from where Will's head had been.

What the-, she thought to herself with a frown. Great, he has his fun and leaves. Buffy wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, and slid from the bed. Her clothes were tossed about, and she quickly gathered one piece and then the next. As she did, however, Will came up the stairs behind her quietly, his arms laden with a tray covered in lunch.

Buffy was in the middle of stomping over to her jeans when she heard him chuckle behind her. Stiffening her back, she straightened and turned, then felt the tension drain away at the site of him with the food.

"Thought you might be hungry, pet. You a'right?" He asked her as he sat the tray on her table. 

"I- yeah, it's stupid, I just… you weren't here." Buffy finished lamely. 

"Well, I was only gone a coupla minutes, just wanted to make sure you had something to eat, s'all. Now, sit. It's my turn to be all domesticated. You've got work in a few hours, and you need to keep up your strength." He winked at her as he removed a cloth napkin from the first plate on the tray, and then the second. Buffy started to laugh softly at the slices of gooey pizza on the plates.

"Domesticated, huh?"

"Hey, I called the pizza joint, AND paid, AND put it on the plate. Took note from your breakfast this morning, pet. You want steak, you can pay next time." He winked once more as they both sat down to eat.

While Buffy chewed, an almost awkward silence filled the room. Buffy wrapped the blanket more snuggly around her body, and let her free hand pick at a slightly frayed edge.

"So, this is kinda awkward, innit?" His clear eyes met hers as she looked up in surprise. She quickly nodded her agreement, however.

"It's just new, that's all."

"No feelings of regret?" He almost looked scared of what her answer would be as he asked her softly.

Shaking her head no, Buffy frowned slightly, wondering why he seemed almost nervous over her answer. "No, no regret here, Will. It's just, well, new, and… I need time to adjust. That make sense?" 

Will nodded and chewed as he thought on the matter. After swallowing, he bestowed a charming smile on her. "Makes enough sense for me, Buffy. Now, eat up, s we can snuggle up and watch a movie." 

*

Buffy glared at the little old lady who was poking her hands into the various bins of 'magical' herbs, her goal being to try and find the best of the best. Scowling at the woman's back, Buffy turned to glance at the clock. It was already ten minutes past closing, and she was supposed to be meeting Will for dinner soon. 

"Ma'am, are you certain I can't help you?" Buffy asked gently as she came up beside the woman. 

The lady just shook her head and muttered about people minding their own business, then triumphantly held up a root that looked identical to all the other roots, at least to Buffy's eyes. 

Buffy sighed in relief as she rang up the customer, and then sent her towards the door with an overly bright smile. Buffy trailed right behind her, and after showing her out, locked the door quickly. She hurried through the closing tasks, and shut the lights off, before leaving by the back door. 

Buffy muttered under her breath as she waited for the next bus, which wasn't due for a few minutes yet. 

*

Will waited at the table he had managed to reserve at the last minute, and scowled at the time. Shoulda picked her up, he thought to himself. He started to smile as the chair in front of him was pulled out, only to scowl when he realized it was Drusilla and Angel. Great, just bloody great, he thought.

"That seat's taken, so leave." Will glared up at the pair, before glancing towards the door.

"Oh, my little Spikey's upset, my love. He doesn't want to see me." Drusilla turned a pout towards Angel before turning back to whimper at Will.

"Name's not Spike, Spikey, or any of the other sick little names you came up with. It's Will. Now leave, before I have management remove you." 

"Now, William, is that anyway to treat an old friend, and the lady you hold a torch for?" Angel's silky voice purred as he reached over and took a drink from Will's glass.

"Yes, it is, and I don't hold a torch anymore. Got a new one. Scurry on off, go eat your young or something. I'm busy."

"Oh, but we're eating here, too. Hope your date doesn't keep you waiting much longer." Angel held his hand out, and Drusilla placed her daintily into it, before standing. She blew a kiss to him, and they stepped away, but only moved a few feet. Their table was only over by a row, and back one. They would be right there the entire time, watching and mocking him. 

Will scowled, and trained his eyes on the door, just as Buffy came through in a flurry. She looked flustered, her hair was wind swept, and there was what appeared to be a root sticking to one side. She was shown to the table, and without a word, Will smiled, and plucked the root from her hair.

Buffy's blush was instant, and she ducked her head with an embarrassed sort of smile.

"Sorry I'm late, we had this woman in there who just wouldn't leave."

"S'not a problem, love." All ready, Will had pushed the thoughts of Angel and Drusilla out of his mind, and focused on the flustered girl in front of him. 


	16. Chapter 17

AN: It's shorter than normal, and I know it took forever, but here it is. More to come some day. I do promise to eventually finish this story out.  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Buffy spotted Drusilla towards the end of the meal, and couldn't keep her mind off the dark haired woman sitting just a few feet away. She had a feeling Will already knew, but she would be damned if she was going to mention it. Dinner had been a bit tense, but nothing really bad, and now that Buffy saw Drusilla, she knew what caused the tension.  
  
Other then the tension, dinner had gone great. Buffy had even ditched her female tendencies to starve, and ordered a large slice of fudge brownie pie. Just as dessert came, and the couple was relaxing, Drusilla and Angel got up to leave.  
  
Unbidden, Will's eye was drawn towards their table. He saw the glint in Dru's eye, and braced himself. They walked quite casually over to where Will and Buffy were cringing, and Drusilla stopped while Angel kept walking.  
  
"William, my sweet, you really must call me soon. I've missed your company." Drusilla drawled in her lilting accent. She leaned over, and brushed a kiss on Will's cheek, and while Buffy was distracted by the kiss, Drusilla reached over and knocked over a full glass of red wine onto Buffy's pale yellow flowered dress.  
  
Buffy felt the cold liquid dousing her front, and stood up, gasping. A bit away, Angel turned and looked at the table with an expected smirk on his face. He walked back as Buffy was busy trying to dab at the spreading stain.  
  
"Drusilla, dear, you really ought to be more careful. Come, we've got things to do."  
  
Will looked up with a scowl and shoved Drusilla away from him before rising to flag down a waiter. As Drusilla and Angel made their get away, however, Buffy stuck her foot in the middle of the walkway, and Drusilla went down hard and fast, and not entirely without noise. A loud screech filled the air, and stopped many of the people around them from talking and eating.  
  
Heads swiveled in the direction of the two couples, and watched opened mouthed as the pretty young girl picked herself up off the floor, and the other one dabbed at the ruined dress.  
  
*  
  
Will was still laughing as they pulled in the parking lot nearly 20 minutes later. Buffy had calmed down fairly quick, especially after seeing the bright red blood pouring down Drusilla's face. They had, however, all been asked to leave the restaurant. As the two went into the front hall, they were laughing loud enough that a neighbor stuck his head out the door, and told them to quite down.  
  
Still giggling, though quietly now, they made their way into the apartment. Xander looked up from the computer, and grinned at the two of them.  
  
"What are you smoking? Don't you know that Buffy and drugs are unmixy?" Xander's voice was high pitched as he said the last line, and he fluttered his eyelashes for effect. Buffy rolled her eyes as she sat down on the sofa, and kicked her shoes off. Will shrugged and slid onto the seat next to her.  
  
"We just had a good time, that's all. Nice innocent fun," Buffy told Xander while opening her eyes wide and smiling innocently.  
  
"Innocent? You? I haven't bought that story in years." Xander snorted after stating what he thought was the obvious, and turned back to the computer. In their short time at the new place, Xander had quickly gotten addicted to the internet, and had since been spending any free time he could on it. It was a secret source of amusement to Buffy.  
  
Will slowly linked his fingers through Buffy's, and tugged on her hand as he stood up. Blushing lightly, she stood with him, and they were soon disappearing down the short hall. Will stopped outside his room, and leaned into Buffy until her back was against the door. Her arms wound around Will's neck, and pulled him in for a searing kiss that had been needed for most of the night.  
  
Will pressed against her body as he responded to her urgent kiss. His mouth pulled back as the air in his lungs began to burn. Will sucked in a deep breath, before his mouth was planted on her neck. As Buffy's eyes closed, her hand fumbled against the door, and finally found the knob. She gave it a quick turn before they went stumbling into the room.  
  
Will pulled off of Buffy laughing as they crashed to the floor. Her own giggles soon followed as she sat up with an awkward and shy smile. With another quick intake of air, Will ducked his head to hers, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, she was looking up at him with her eyes half lidded with desire. He sat back and shook his head slowly.  
  
"Maybe we ought to take this a bit slower, pet." He sat back on his heels and watched her for a moment as uncertainty gripped his heart.  
  
"Slower?" Buffy blinked, wondering where that had come from.  
  
"It's just, the thing with Dru started fast, and I never got to know her, and I want to do this right and proper. Seeing that she-demon tonight showed me just how fast we went already." He looked up at her and waited for what felt like an eternity before she finally responded.  
  
"I guess that's not a bad idea. It's usually the woman's idea, but not a bad one." Buffy and Will both laughed nervously. "And. I suppose that means I should be off to bed." Buffy pulled herself up, and straightened her clothes. Before she could change her mind, Buffy was out the door, and it shut with a soft click. 


	17. Chapter 18

AN: Yeah, it took a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time, but here it is. Chapter 18! Thank you to those who faithfully kept my story in their favorites list, even after I announced that I was done writing. I hope you guys enjoy my muse's work. 

Buffy stared at the alarm clock for a few minutes. It was just about time for Will to get home from work. Nearly a week had passed since they had agreed to take it slow, and for the most part, they were still taking it slow. That is, if slow meant spending every waking available moment together. 

Will had even changed his sleeping patterns to adjust to remaining awake until Buffy was out the door for her own two jobs. Likewise, Buffy had started getting up earlier and earlier so that on her off days, she could go back to sleep when Will came home. 

And sleep they did. Since that first day, they had laid off the sex, which frustrated both of them. When they climbed into his bed together- it was bigger than hers- they would lay close to one another, snuggled under the warm blankets. Buffy reveled in the feeling of falling asleep in his arms. 

Comfort wasn't something she had ever thought a man could provide, but Will provided it in droves. Comfort, safety, friendship, and love were all things she identified feeling when she thought of Will.

Blinking groggily, she yawned as the minutes ticked by. The thought of love rose in her mind again. It wasn't so much that she felt she loved him, as she just loved being with him. _At least, I don't think its love, _she thought_. Maybe it is, what do I know? It's not like I've felt it before._  

With a sigh, she sat up in bed, and slid out. Her fuzzy piggy slippers were waiting near the bed for her feet. The storms lately had made the weather dreary and cold, and she'd unearthed the slippers she had once received as a joke to compensate the cold feet syndrome that Buffy equated to morning coffee with Will. 

It was funny how much she had started to equate to her morning's with him. She had so many feelings and reactions that tied in with the small morning ritual. Glancing back at the clock again, Buffy pulled on a thick warm robe, and stumbled down the stairs to make coffee.

Will stuck his time card into the little electronic machine, and went towards his locker. The company had provided a room filled with small square lockers for people to store their belongings after several people were fired for stealing. He pulled his duster out, and slammed it shut.

On his way out, he glanced at the clock, and saw that he was running late already for his morning with Buffy. With a bit of a scowl, he pulled a cigarette out, and put it between his lips. She hated his smoking, but didn't tell him he had to stop. It was one of his only vices, and Will was damn well going to keep it.

Just as he reached his car, he felt a hand on his shoulder, halting him. He cursed under his breath, and turned around. As he did, a large fist slammed into his face. Cursing loudly now, Will stumbled back against the car, and looked towards his assailant.           

"Oh, bullocks, peaches! What the bloody hell was that for?" He held his nose and squeezed his eyes shut against the pain for a moment. From his lips, the now broken cigarette dangled, threatening to fall at any moment. The damn chilliness in the air accentuated the pain.

"That was paybacks. Ain't life grand?" Angelus smirked cockily as he pulled his hand back again. Balling it into a loose fist, he swung forward. Just before his meaty weapon made contact, however, Will ducked down. Cursing at the sound of his car window cracking, Will darted forward towards Angelus' legs. 

Barreling into them, he wrapped his arms around the knees, and shoved. Angelus went down quickly, but came right back towards him swinging fists. A lucky fist caught Will on the chin, and sent his head backwards. 

"Naughty, naughty, naughty. Angel, don't bloody him. I wanted to do that." Behind the brawling pair, Drusilla stood in a long red coat. She was making a tsk-ing sound with her mouth, and shaking her finger at the two of them. 

Angelus scowled up at her as Will drew his own fist back, and caught Angelus in his nose. Blood splurted forth from his nose after a satisfying crunch could be heard. Angelus cussed loudly before laying back in on the muddy gravel drive way. Will took the opportunity to pummel Angelus' face with his fists. 

Drusilla screeched, and leaned behind him to try and knock Will away, and caught an elbow to her midsection. As she fell backwards, Angelus used a burst of strength to push Will off of him. He quickly pulled himself up from the mud as Will stood and glared at the two.

Buffy stood glaring outside. It was 10 after 8. _Will gets out of work at 7:40, home by 7:55_, she thought with a scowl. She pushed her cereal around the bowl, and stared at the coffee pot. 

"Now, now, Spike, is this any way to treat a couple of old friends?" Angelus smirked at him as Will wiped blood off his own face with a hanky. Drusilla was standing next to Will, ranting and raving into his face about the fight.

"I don't see any friends here, just a bunch of wankers. I'm late, what the bloody hell do you two want?"

"Spikey, we wanted to tell you, and you were nasty! I don't think we shall tell you after all." Drusilla plastered on a fake looking pout as she stared up at Will. Angelus smirked as he watched the two.

Buffy stood up, and dumped her soggy cereal into the trash. She tossed the coffee down the drain, and walked back to the stairs. It was nearly 9am now, and still no Will. She was worried, but she was also mad. He could be hurt, sure, but her rational mind told her that he just got held up with something. Too bad her mind couldn't read his and find out what was keeping him.

"Spit it out, then, Dru. I 'aven't got all day. Tell me what the bloody hell you want, and leave." Will scowled at the two of them as he held a rag to his face. 

"Angel and I are getting married! We want you to be there, my little Spikey." Drusilla dabbed at his face with her own small hanky, smiling at him in an almost angelic manner. Will scowled, and brushed her off of him.

"Like hell I'll be there. Have fun, have bratty babies, and SOD OFF!" Will pushed her away from the door to the car, and opened it. Angelus laughed deeply behind him.

"See, darling, I told you he'd not come. You know, he never really did care for our feelings." With a smirk, he slid his arm around Drusilla's shoulder, and pulled her over towards their car. Drusilla frowned as she wiped at Angelus' face now. 

Will glared at the two of them through the cracked window, then started the car, and screeched out of the parking lot. It was nearly 9 now. Buffy'd be ticked off, he knew, but after that fight, he had to go out and wind down.


	18. Chapter 19a

Chapter 19a

AN: This chapter came out short, and I was a bit skitter brained to come up with anything more at this point. I figured it'd be better to at least post this bit, than to wait for more to come to me.

_"Spit it out, then, Dru. I 'aven't got all day. Tell me what the bloody hell you want, and leave." Will scowled at the two of them as he held a rag to his face._

Drusilla's lips curved into a smile, something that looked almost out of place on her darkly made up face. Angel leaned into her, and kissed the side of her face while keeping his eyes on Will.

"We're getting married, Spike, baby. Angel and I want you to join us at the nuptials. Won't it be lovely? A midnight ceremony in a garden of lovely white moonflowers, blooming under the full moon. And we can dance, pet, dance and dance and dance…" Drusilla's eyes were clouded over as she stared off into space. 

Will glaring at the pair, and opened his car door. Scowling at the broken window, he slid into the seat. 

"Bloody fanaticals. Enjoy life. Leave me out of it." Will started the car, and threw it into reverse as he stomped the gas pedal, and pealed out of the drive. The car tossed up wet gravel as he drove out the front gates.

Buffy was pacing around her loft, and glancing at her alarm clock every 20 or 30 seconds, then cursing Will again. He still wasn't here, and it was nearly ten in the morning. She couldn't figure out why he wasn't, and why he hadn't called. Her belly was doing flip flops from the nerves as she paced.

Will sat down in the cheap plastic booths of the small diner, and looked at the menu, which was part of the table. His mood was black, nearly as black as the bruises on his body from the fight. He hadn't gone home, even though he knew he should have. Instead, he drove around, until he ended up in some podunk town in the middle of nowhere.

"Special's eggs and ham, with toast, for $3.99. What'll it be?" A tired looking middle aged waitress stood looking down at a small scribble pad in her hands. Will looked up and down the column's on the menu, and finally ordered some strong coffee and the special.

While he waited for the food to come, Will dug around to find some change in his pocket, and then made his way over to the pay phone he'd spotted in the rear near the restrooms. With a quick glance at the clock, he picked the phone up, and plunked his two quarters in.

The ringing shrillness of the phone jerked Buffy from her pacing. She stood staring at it for a moment, then practically pounced on the noisy object.

"Will? Hello? Is that you? Where are you, why aren't you here, what the hell happened?" Buffy practically yelled into the receiver.

"Buffy, love, slow down. I've had a bad morning, and I needed to do some driving around. I don't know where the bloody hell I am right now. I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning. I'll be back late tonight, likely. Maybe not before I go to work. I'll try to call, though." 

Before Buffy could respond at all, the phone clicked a few times, then a dial tone sounded in her ear. Frowning, she held the phone out in front of her, and eyed it in confusion.

After a moment or two, Buffy sat the phone back down, hanging it up. She watched it for a moment, then finally got up and stomped around the room, talking to herself as she went.

Will drove into the parking lot, his eyes trained on the dark apartment as he pulled up front. He waited late into the day, knowing that Buffy had to work at the magic shop until 9. Will had to be to the factory at 10, so he'd just make sure to leave right at 9, so as to avoid her.

It wasn't her that he was avoiding; so much as it was her questions. He fancied himself well and over Drusilla, but her announcement that morning had left him feeling unsettled and anxious. Old feelings clashed with new ones as he remembered the ill-fated romance between Dru and himself.

Once inside the apartment, Will quickly grabbed a bag of chips, and sat down at the computer. With a bit of hesitation, he finally pulled up a file where he saved all the things he had of hers, of Drusilla.

Buffy glanced at the clock as she waited for the older man to finish picking just the right herbs for some love incantation he planned to do on his wife. She smiled and nodded when appropriate. Mr. Giles was waiting in back for her to finish up, so they could go through and do inventory.

Buffy still didn't know how she managed to get roped into it, but at this rate, she wouldn't be home until around midnight, possibly later. They had roped Tara into coming in as well, though she said she might not be there until 10, as she had a study group until around 9:30. Will hadn't answered the phone, much to Buffy's consternation.

The little troll of  a man finally came to the register, a perpetual scowl on his face even as Buffy smiled at him while ringing up the items on the counter.

"That will be $18.56, sir." The man scowled as he slapped down a $20, and she quickly handed him his change. Without a word, he left.

Buffy followed him out the door, and taped up the closed early sign, and turned the lock before turning the flashing neon 'open' sign off.  _Another long night_, she thought.


	19. Chapter 19b

**_19b_**

**_an- sorry for the wait, hope it was worth it!_**

Will came home right on time the next morning, and found a nervous Buffy sitting at the table waiting for him with a cup of coffee. She had bags under her eyes, and he frowned slightly.

"Have you slept a'tall, Buffy?" He asked as he pulled his boots and duster off.

"Not a whole lot, no. Inventory last night, remember? We didn't get done until nearly 1am. Didn't sleep real hot even after I got home. Where were you?"

Looking up Will couldn't help but notice the slight frown on her face, and the hurt expression her eyes held. 

"I had to do some driving, love. I know you were worried, but I needed to get away from here for a while." Will closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, letting his head drop back until it was facing up towards the ceiling.

"Oh," was all Buffy said in response. The one small word, said so quietly, was about all Will could stand, but at the same time, he felt the need to push away from her. Drusilla and Angel had left him feeling the need to protect his heart from any more painful shards of glass. Sighing, he opened his eyes.

"Look, baby, why don't we go lay down. I need the sleep, and it looks like you do, too. We'll talk about yesterday later some time." Will stood up, and held a hand out towards her. Buffy looked up at him with large eyes, then took a deep breath, and stood, placing her hand in his.

They silently walked towards the stairs, but Will veered off into the bathroom to change first. Buffy stood staring at the door and trying to sort her own emotions over the entire matter. She felt hurt that he didn't share what was bothering him. Even more than the hurt, though, was the confusion over why he would just disappear for a day without telling her why, or where he was.

Will came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of gym shorts, and a t-shirt, and took her hand again. They walked silently up to her room, and crawled into a bed they were starting to both refer to as their bed, rather than her bed.

"Willow, I don't know what's going on in his head. He won't say anything, and it's been almost a week." Buffy was talking to Willow on the phone as she hurriedly got ready for work. 

"Maybe there isn't anything to tell, Buff. I mean, he might have just gone to Vegas for the day, or something." 

"It isn't just that. He's been pulling away since that day. He almost never comes home straight from work, and when he does, he tells me he's tired, and disappears into his bedroom."

"I don't know what to tell you, Buffy. Just give him time and space." Willow sounded sympathetic as she tried to give her best friend advice on men, something she didn't have great knowledge in.

"Yeah… I should just let him alone. Thanks for talking with me, Willow. I need to get to the diner. I'll talk to you later." 

The girls said their goodbyes, and Buffy hung up the phone. For a moment, she stared at Will's door, then sighed, and left the apartment.

Will stared at his door as he heard Buffy talking to Willow. He closed his eyes with a deep sigh, and shrugged off the feelings tugging at his heart. He didn't care to explain it to her, because he knew she wouldn't understand everything.

After he heard the door click shut, Will got up and pulled on his jeans. Glancing around the room, he spied a button down crumpled on the floor. Will pulled it on, and buttoned it all the way down. Time to do laundry, he thought as he glanced at the growing pile in the corner.

Normally, they did it together, but he had left early for work that night, ensuring that he wouldn't have to be alone with Buffy for too long. Childish and petty, sure, but the more he was around her, the less he felt the need to hide away. For his own good and survival, he needed to keep his distance.

Will gathered everything up, and nabbed his pouch of change before leaving the apartment and heading for his car. There was a laundry room in the building, but it was small and quite often the few machines were filled. Instead, they always went to a laundry mat down the road.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but could I trouble you for bit of soap?" A perky brunette was standing in front of Will, holding out a cap from her own empty bottle of soap. "I ran out with only one load left."

"Sure, ducks." Will took her cap and poured some soap into it before handing it back, and turning back to the rather boring, 2 year old copy of Cat Fancy. She hung around looking at him for a moment, and then turned back to her own laundry. His mind was on Buffy still, wondering what she was doing, what she was thinking. 

No, he had to forget about her that way. She was a roommate, nothing more. With a resigned sigh, he set the old magazine down, and stood up to nab his laundry from the washers, and take it over to the dryer. He could feel the girl watching him again as he put the clothing into the dryer. 

He smiled towards her as he sat back down, and she wandered over towards him again. He watched her advance with mixed thoughts. The girl was cute, not like Buffy, but cute in her own right. She was someone he might even have asked out once upon a time.

"I can't believe these things are so old here," she said as she held up the copy of Cat Fancy. "I mean, can't they at least spring a few bucks for something new?"

Will laughed and nodded as his mind started churning. Maybe the best way to forget how Buffy felt in his arms was to put someone else in them.

"So, you wanna grab some lunch after our laundry's done?" Will asked her. Her smile showed that she had been waiting for the question.

"I'd love to," she replied.

"Name's Will, by the way."

"Anya," was her response.


	20. Chapter 20

AN: Aren't you guys lucky? Two updates in 1 day! You all officially owe me lots of chocolate. Oh, and hey? Someone send James on over. I swear it's my turn! :p

Chapter 20

Buffy glanced at the empty apartment and frowned for what felt like the 75th time in 2 hours. Will still wasn't home, hadn't been all day. She knew it was his day off, and had hoped they could talk tonight over dinner.

She felt like he was pulling away from her, though, and that wasn't good from her point of view. Scowling, she went upstairs and changed out of her work clothes, and into a comfortable pair of sweats and a black t-shirt. Frowning down at it, she realized it was his. With only a few curses, she pulled it off, and tugged on a tank top instead.

As she pulled a brush through her hair, she heard the door open. Hurrying over, she pulled the canvas 'wall' aside, and peeked over the edge. Her shoulders fell when she saw Xander.

"Hey Buffster, what's the what?" Xander smiled up at her as he tossed his light jacket over the back of a chair, before making his way up the stairs to her room. He plopped down on her bed, and watched her stomp around the room.

"He STILL isn't here, and he STILL avoids me like… like… well, like I have the plague." She glimpsed at the clock, and saw that it was nearly 7pm, and scowled at it. "What is wrong with me? Or him? Is it Will? No, it can't be. He must hate something about me." Buffy began to ramble on as she talked more to herself than to Xander.

Xander grimaced along side her this time. "Buffy, I don't know what the deal is, but I don't know of any guys who find anything wrong with you."

Buffy stopped moving, and sighed softly as her shoulders drooped. She sat down next to him on the bed, and pulled a pillow over her face.

"I phath ghym," she mumbled. Xander smirked, and pulled the pillow away.

"You what?"

"I hate him," she said once more, unmuffled this time. For good measure, Buffy stuck her tongue out at Xander, and pulled the pillow back over her head.

Will unlocked the security door and laughed along with a story Anya was telling him about some of the guys she had gone out with in the past. For the most part, the evening had been pleasant enough, but that special spark was missing. She was only a replacement for what he really wanted.

"So, I told him that if he ever brought me any more rabbits, I would curse him for all time. Where's your place?" Anya had a habit of moving directly from one line of thought to the next without giving Will a chance to catch up first.

"Huh? Oh, the flat, right. S'up the steps. First door there at the top." Will followed behind her up the steps, and suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He had been thinking that Buffy worked at the magic shop that night, but had recalled as he approached the door, that she had traded tonight with another employee. She'd be home. Waiting. Seeing him. With another woman. 

_Great bloody time to be thinking of the consequences, you wanker, _he told himself. _Just bloody great. You start this mess, might as well finish it. Break it off with this bint, and Buffy, and lock my ballsy self away for eternity. Sounds good, _he thought.

With a sense of unease, Will slowly unlocked and opened the door. He didn't hear anyone right off as he peeked his head in first, then entered. Anya was hot on his heels as he came in. 

"Oh, this place is great! I love it." Anya's voice unfortunately rang out through the apartment, and Will cringed just moments before both Buffy and Xander's heads popped over the wall in the loft.

"Will?" Buffy asked with uncertainty as she watched Anya weasel in close to him.

"Xander?" Anya asked as she looked up at her neighbor's son.

"Buffy, look…" Will said with a distinct feeling that he was going to be butchered.

"Anya? What are you doing here? And with captain peroxide?" Xander asked at the same time Will tried to reply to Buffy. 

Xander suddenly frowned at the closeness and turned towards Buffy, who had already disappeared from view of the lower section. She was sitting on the bed, pale as can be. Downstairs, he heard Will ask Anya to take a seat as he made his way up the stairs.

"Buffy, look…" Will repeated, only to have Xander shake his head and point back down the stairs.

"Man, not now. Go back to Anya. Leave me to pick up the pieces." Will frowned and started to step forward, but Buffy turned her back to him, and he stopped. With a resigned sigh, he made his way back down the steps to talk to Anya.

Anya was flipping through stations, obliviously unaware of the tension between the other three people in the flat. 

"Oh, you guys get Cinemax! There's this movie I have been just dying to see, but I don't have cable."  Will looked at her for a minute, then headed for the small balcony while reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes. 

"I'll be out here. Anya, why don't you join me? I think we should talk a bit."

Anya looked up and nodded, before joining him out on the small balcony.

Upstairs, Buffy was tossing a few things into a duffle bag, and slipping on a pair of shoes. She grabbed a book from her shelf, opened it, and pulled a wad of cash from the hallowed out inside. 

"Buff, you can't just leave. Where will you go?" Xander was following close on her heels while trying to talk some sense into his friend. 

"Maybe Willow's… or I could treat myself to a night in a hotel. What about Tara? I can find a place for a night or two. I just need to get away, Xander. No big. Just time alone."

Xander shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her movement.

"And after that? You can't move, you have a lease, and there's nothing else you can afford right now anyway. Just calm down. If you really need to go somewhere else tonight, then we can both take a vacation. Rent a room in a hotel, do the swimming, room service thing." He smiled his trademark smile and pulled her towards him.

Buffy sighed softly, and looked around, before nodding. Xander nodded with her, and stepped back, while letting her arm go.

"Good, then, I'll go grab my bag, and we'll check into the Hyatt for the night."

Will came back in with Anya, and without a word to his flatmates; he left with her, to take her home. The conversation had been minimal on the way, after he explained his relationship and feelings towards Buffy. Anya had been understanding, but bored with the conversation afterwards. 

He dropped her off at home with a brief hug, and a wave, then left. On his way back towards the flat, he veered into a convenience mart, and seized a bottle of somewhat cheap wine from a shelf, and the nicest bouquet of flowers they had. He had some major butt kissing to do once he got home.

On the way to the Hyatt, neither Xander nor Buffy spoke with one another. Xander was thinking about the sudden appearance of Anya, while Buffy was mulling over the 'date' Will had brought home. 

_Sure, _she reasoned with herself_, Anya might have just been a friend, but Will looked entirely too guilty_. Her eyes closed as they pulled out of the lot in Xander's truck. She felt so tired, so exhausted. 


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

_AN-_

Thank you to the 50+ people who all took the time to either email me directly, or post a new review, or hit my tag board. You are all WONDERFUL! I needed that, a lot. I was shocked when I had gotten around 10 the first few hours after posting. 40 some odd later, I'm flabbergasted. Simply in shock. For the people who don't like the story, well, you aren't the writer, and no writer has a fan base made up of every last person in the world. If I'm not pleasing you with my turn of events, click that little X in the top corner. It's a magic button, and makes the offensive material go away. Buffy and Spike/Will, in any form, are not REAL PEOPLE. They are fiction, no matter how much we'd love for them to be real. No matter hat we make them do, we deviate from the original characters. If we made them identical, then what we write would have been an episode. Any deviation from the show changes the characters. AU takes the show and flips it off before forcing it to bend over and kiss the pearly white flowers growing out its ass. Point blank, I write the characters, as I always wanted them to be. Shy, loving, and confused. If you want perfect, write it your damn self. Enjoy the story, because this is how it's going to be written. Don't like it, refer to AN number 2, listed above. Like it? Email, tag, blurty, review, etc. I love the fact that so many people out there DO like my vision. But I accept that it isn't for everyone. People have different tastes, and this is mine.__

Will pulled into the parking lot to find Xander's truck gone, and the lights in the flat off. With a bit of a frown, he shut the engine off, and stared up at the flat. Without going up, he just had a gut wrenching feeling that she wasn't there.

Finally, he pulled the flowers and wine from the seat beside him, and got out of the car. Will walked slowly up to the door, and unlocked it. His feet seemed made of lead as he traversed the flight of stairs towards his shared apartment. Silence and darkness greeted him when he finally opened the door. _She was gone, and it was his fault. He messed up bad_, he thought.

Buffy sighed as Xander talked to the clerk at the Hyatt. _It would only be for a few days,_ she thought. Buffy had never actually met the girl, Anya, but she'd heard plenty about her from Xander. She had a different date nearly every night, and had few misgivings about sleeping with more than a few of them. 

Buffy scowled and trudged along behind Xander as the walked towards the elevator that would carry them to the 5th floor. Her thoughts were tangled, like she was trying to wade through waist deep water at a full out run.

Xander slid the small key card into the door and Buffy blinked, and tried to recall the actual elevator ride. With another grimace, she resigned herself to her muddled state of mind, and entered the large room. Xander came in behind her, and closed the dead bolt on the door.

"Ah, home sweet hotel. So, Buffster, room service?" Xander smiled a bit, but Buffy could see that he was also upset over the events, both about how Will acted, and the sudden appearance of Anya.

"Not hungry, really. I think I'll go sit on the balcony." Buffy moved past him, and opened the door to the microscopic balcony that overlooked the picturesque... well… parking lot. There were no chairs, so instead, Buffy slid down against the glass door, and blinked her dry eyes once.

_It was like Parker, all over again. Ok, perhaps not as bad_, she reasoned with herself, _but bad enough_. This time, she at least protected her body, if not her heart. Her body would be fine, but her heart, that would take some time to heal. Quite a lot of it, actually.

Xander stood inside the room looking at his best friend as she slumped against the door, and felt a stab of white-hot anger course through him. He liked Will, liked him a lot, but he loved Buffy. She had been in his world for years, and he hated the idea of her being hurt at all. 

After the whole fiasco after high school, Xander had watched over her closer, watched her dates, and comforted her when they didn't work out. He had never seen Buffy throw herself so completely into a relationship, especially one that was so new. 

Later, he would likely reason with himself, and claim he wasn't thinking right, but as he picked up the phone and dialed their apartment, he knew he was thinking straight. About as straight as he had ever thought in his life. Xander waited with a grim set to his face while the phone rang.

Will looked over at the phone, and felt his stomach hitch as he hurried to answer it. He knew it wasn't likely, but he couldn't help but hope that it was Buffy.

"Hello? Buffy?" He asked in a hurry, before the person on the other end could reply to the hello.

"You have a lot of nerve, Will, you know that? I don't know what the hell is going through your mind, but you just hurt one of the only girls I've ever loved. I sure as hell hope you are happy with yourself."

"Xander, mate, it's not like that. I wasn't thinking-"

"You're damn right you weren't thinking! Do you know what she's doing right now? She's sitting outside, trying to hide the fact that she's bawling." Xander glanced at his friend again, and lowered his voice.

"Where are you guys at? I need to talk to her, to explain. So stupid, really, but it was my fault, all of it."

"I don't think she wants to talk right now, and we won't be back. At least, we won't be back tonight. You have some major ass kissing to do, for both of us. You lost major points." Before Will could respond to Xander, Xander hung the phone up on him. He glanced back out the window at his friend, whose shoulders were hunched down, with her arms wrapped around her legs.

Will held the phone to his ear until it started beeping at him, and then let it slip from his hand. A feeling of cold dread clenched at his stomach. He sat down on the chair, and stared unseeing ahead. His eyes were blank, the blue nearly as pale as ice.

_She's gone, and you did it, mate. Bloody good show, _he thought. Leaning back, his eyes slipped closed, and an arm came up to cover them. He realized he messed up, but Drusilla had been his heart for so long. How was he supposed to learn to accept that she wasn't, now? That Buffy had silently slipped in, and taken over?

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts coming to mind, Will stood up, and with a clear mind, headed up to her room. With a sign of relief, he noticed that her room seemed to be almost completely intact still. In fact, there was very little at all missing. Even her uniform for the diner was in her closet.

With a smile, albeit a weak one, Will walked back down stairs, and went to hide in his room. He had no doubts that what Xander said was true, that he'd broken her heart. It wasn't so much even bringing Anya home, as much as he had avoided her this week, and had distanced himself. 

Earlier in the week, it would have taken everything to pull the betrayal he felt from Dru and Angel out. Now, he could only wish Buffy would be back, so he could explain himself to her. That is, if it wasn't too late. _But it can't be, _he thought_. I can't have lost her so soon._


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 

_an- sorry it's so long in coming. I re-read Flat Mates yesterday, and got a great big kick in the ass to get it finished up soon. Also, when I searched the hard drive for where I had hidden them away, I realized that all this time, I had about a third of this chapter all ready finished. Hope you enjoy. I expect there will be 1 more chapter after this, is all. Read and Review, as always. -Gilly_

Buffy looked out the window of the diner. She had been working for 2 hours already, but every time the door opened, she expected to see _him_ walk through. She had been a coward, and sent Xander home to retrieve the forgotten uniform, though he reported that if Will was home, he was locked away in his room, dead to the world. Still, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to show up, and possibly cause trouble.

"Hey, where's my food? I ordered it nearly 20 minutes ago!" Buffy glanced at the surly trucker at the counter, and apologized before going into the back to grab the tray. It had been set under a heat lamp for several minutes, and very nearly burned her fingers as she carried it to the man.

Will observed the diner from the front seat of his car, debating on whether or not to go on in. He didn't want to trouble her more, and causing a scene might just do that. Nevertheless, at the same time, he was concerned about her. _No, _he thought_, no just her, us._

Lying awake in his bed, Will had heard Xander come in quietly that morning, but he remained still. No sense in upsetting the lad again. _No, _he thought_, that'd wait until later._ He couldn't even be sure they would be home tonight. Or where they were staying.

With a resigned sigh, he threw the car into drive, and squealed his tires as he drove from the small parking lot. On his way out, Will glanced over and noticed her standing in front of the window, watching him with a shaken expression on her beautiful face. _Great, she saw,_ he thought to himself.

_Great, he was here,_ she thought to herself. Several surprised patrons had looked up at the sudden tire squealing in the parking lot, and watched as the old car tore from the drive as though the hounds of hell were licking at it's feet.

The apprehension Buffy had been feeling lifted a bit, but it still worried her that he had been out there, watching her. Who knew how long he'd been there, either. She found herself shivering, and looked back to the table before pouring coffee with an artificial smile.

Will sat at the table scribbling furiously on a notebook. It had come to him that morning, as he'd waited at the diner. It was her song, about her, about how he felt for her. Since she'd moved in, he'd been on a dry stint with his song writing, but now, it was back. _I suppose I have my heartbreak to thank for this,_ he thought.

With the pencil in his mouth, and the notebook in front of him, Will began to strum out the music on his guitar. After a few mishaps, he had the melody he wanted. A haunting piece of music filled the flat while his foot tapped out a measured rhythm. He started to hum the words along with it, nodding as he went.

This would be his apology, his heart bared for her, no matter how painful it would be for him. Losing her was an even greater wound, and a greater failure. That was to be avoided at all costs. Finally, when he had it down in his head, he pulled out a sheet of blank music paper, and began to fill in all the blanks of the song he simply titled _Her_.

Buffy waited inside the diner until she saw Xander pull up, and with a glance either way, her small form darted out the door, and into the truck. She pulled the door shut, and looked at Xander.

"He was here, Xan. He came by and was watching me through the window." She looked at the window as they pulled away from the diner, her pale green eyes looking specifically for him. Xander sighed heavily.

"Buff, maybe it's time to go home and talk to him. We don't know what happened yesterday, not without talking to him, first." His eyes were on the road, but he see out of the corner of his eye that Buffy was sitting still, staring out the window. He could hear her sighing.

"Yeah, sure, I guess. I don't want to, but I see your logic. When did you get with the logic?" Buffy turned towards him, and teased him just a bit, before turning to look back outside.

"Oh, you know me, I'm just logic boy. It's a gift, really." Xander's tone was a tad sarcastic, with a bit of teasing gilt on the edge, as well. Buffy turned back towards him with serious eyes.

"Don't leave me there alone? Stay with me?" Her eyes were hopeful, as her teeth tugged at her lower lip. Xander sighed and turned towards her.

"Buff, you need to deal with it, and I can't always be there to hold your hand. Talk to him. I'll be waiting down here until after you talk." He pulled the truck up in front of the building, and nodded to the upstairs window, where lights were on. "Go, listen to him. And for the love of my things, don't throw stuff. And stay out of my room! I still remember the great Parker fest."

Buffy turned and scowled at him, before opening the door, and sliding out of the truck. She stood on the pavement for a moment, the door held open still, her eyes staring up at the shared apartment. Drawing in a deep breath, she propelled herself forward, and slammed the door shut as she hurried towards the front entrance.

Will's ears perked at the sound of the main door downstairs slamming shut. He held his breath as he looked at the door to the apartment. The guitar was balanced on his knees, his arms around it on the right chords.

When he heard the key inserted into the door, his eyes drawn down to the door handle. Almost as if it were in slow motion, Will watched the handle being turned, and then saw the door gap open a tiny bit, almost hesitatingly, before it opened further. Buffy's head poked through, focusing on the living room to the front of her. It took her a moment to see him sitting in the dark, at the kitchen table.

"Will…" she said quietly, as she noticed him. Her eyes were down cast, and she shivered just a bit.

"Buffy, baby, I'm glad you came home." His voice was quiet, and sincere. Will's pale blue eyes were on her, though she wasn't looking up at him. "I know things got out of hand, and I never intended for you to go through it."

Buffy nodded slowly, as her fingers nervously fiddled with the edge of her grease stained apron. Will was silent as she fiddled, and finally, her head rose slowly, until her eyes were locked with his.

Under her eyes were puffy bags, whether from crying, or lack of sleep, Will wasn't certain. He offered her a small smile, hoping she would return it. When she didn't, his feel from his lips.

"I didn't do anything with her, Buff. We talked a lot, and grabbed something to eat, and then she came back here to watch a movie. I… I can't say it felt good, or even innocent, but nothing happened."

"Will, stop. Just stop."

His heart lurched as she asked him to stop. A slight frown wrinkled at his brow as he waited for her to speak again.

"Can we just go back to last week, when things were fine? Before you disappeared? When you acted like you enjoyed being around me?" Will sighed deeply as he listened to her, and his own head dropped this time, his eyes drawn to the carpet under foot.

"Buffy, love, I know you want to know what happened, and I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner. Maybe this whole thing could have been avoided, if I had." During a slight pause, Will lifted his head again, and it tilted slightly to the side as he looked back into her eyes.

"Then tell me what happened. Trust me, Will." Her words were spoken quietly, but he could hear the pleading in them.

"That morning, when I didn't come home, Dru and Angel showed up at work. Got the snot beaten from me, before they told me they were getting married, and wanted me there. Now, it doesn't seem like anything, but it hurt." He drew in a steadying breath, and watched her carefully "Compared to how I've made you and myself feel this week, last week was like a bloody prance through a park."

Emotion darkened eyes looked back at his, and Buffy nodded briefly, while waiting for him to finish.

"Point is, Buffy, I've been a daft pounce. Forgive me? I saw you there, in front of me, giving me your heart. But more than that, I saw you taking mine, and I got scared. I… well, to get strait to it, I love you, Buffy."

A small gasp left her mouth, barely audible, as she dropped her nervous hands to her sides. Finally, she nodded her head and took a small step closer to him, as her eyes threatened tears.

"I… I forgive you, Will. Just, can we not do this again? Can we just talk to each other when we need to?"

He smiled again, this time a happier one, and he nodded himself. "Aye, love, we can."

"Will?"

"Yes, love?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."


	23. Epilogue

Epilogue

_8 months later_

Buffy's hands nervously smoothed down the taffeta of her dress. Her hair was perfect, the long tresses curled and arranged artfully with small white flowers woven in and around the curls. A simple strand of tiny pearls was fastened around her neck, with a pair of matching earrings at her lobes. Her feet were encased in a lovely pair of satin shoes, and her legs were shrouded in silk nylons. The finishing touch would be the bouquet, which was still sitting off to the side on a small table.

Willow stood behind her, helping to fasten the back of the dress. She placed her hands on Buffy's shoulders, and smiled at the reflection in the mirror of the two friends.

"Everything will be fine."

"I know. Things will be fine. In a few hours, it will be over with, and we can celebrate."

Buffy smiled and turned to her friend.

"Well, it's time."

Will frowned at the stubborn tie around his neck, and finally scowled as he dropped his hands.

"Xan, mate? Little help here?"

Xander chuckled and bit back a teasing comment before he reached up and quickly tied the bow tie at Will's neck.

"You ready for this, man?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Good, cause I think we're supposed to be out there now."

Will nodded, and with one last adjustment to the tie, he followed Xander out the door.

Buffy peeked into the room, which was packed with more people than she'd ever even known. With a deep breath, she smiled over at Willow, and nodded.

"Let's go."

Willow grinned, and walked towards the entrance way, and started to arrange the bridesmaids up with their groomsmen. She frowned and looked at Anya.

"We're missing someone", she said quietly.

"Yeah, I know. He'll be out here, or I swear, I'll cast a hex on him. It might not do anything now, but one day, when he least-".

"Yes, yes, yes, I know. Can we save the hex's for after the wedding?"

Anya just huffed, and nodded.

Willow caught Buffy's eye and rolled her own, while mouthing the words, "Drama queen". Buffy stifled a giggle, and nodded, before slipping into her place in line. Finally, Will came sprinting out, and stepped up next to her. He placed a kiss on her cheek.

"You look beautiful," he whispered. She smiled and thanked him softly as the music inside the church began.

"Alright, it's time, so get out there and get me married!" Anya said in a loud and gleeful voice. Willow and Buffy again both rolled their eyes.

Buffy sat at the head table sipping a glass of wine while the music played. The bride, no matter how annoying she could be, looked radiant, and Xander looked happy, as well. Will had disappeared just before the bridal dance had started, and Willow had gone to talk with one of Xander's cousins. The meal was served, the drinks were flowing rather freely, due to the Harris clan, and everyone was having a good time.

No matter how much she tried not to picture it, every few minutes, Buffy's mind melted away, and she was imagining what her own wedding would look like. Xander had moved out of the loft just a week ago, and Willow would be staying with them, at least temporarily.

As the song ended, Will looked at the DJ and nodded. Xander pulled Anya from the floor with some protest, and artfully stopped her from protesting too much with a kiss. The lights in the room were dimmed, with a single spotlight still on from the bridal dance. It swiveled over to Buffy, who looked up in surprise. Over the microphone, the DJ asked if everyone could please cast their attention to the girl in the spotlight. Her cheeks flaming, Buffy stood up to move, but the light followed her.

"Sorry, doll, but we have a young man here who says to keep the light on you," came over the speaker again. There was some laughter from the guests, before the mic was handed over to Will.

"Buffy, love. Can you come out here, please?" Buffy's belly about dropped out from her as she moved quickly over to where Will stood on the middle of the dance floor. The spotlight followed her the entire time. "I know, this isn't the most ideal place, and Anya's likely going to hex me for this, but Buffy, love, I had to ask. Will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?"

Her mouth dry, Buffy just stared at Will, who was doing things right and proper, and down on one knee. In front of him, he held a small black velvet box up towards her. With a shaky hand, she reached for it, and snapped it open. Inside, nestled in white satin, was a gold ring with three diamonds on the band. The center diamond was larger than the other two, but all were fairly good sized.

Blinking back tears, and failing just some, Buffy looked back at Will, and finally nodded. The audience, minus Anya who was now pouting rather loudly, all started to cheer and clap. Will stood up and dropped the mic as he took her in his arms and swung her around in a tight hug.

"Oh, love, you've made me happy, not just for this, but for the past year. You made me complete." Buffy laughed even as tears came unchecked down her cheeks.

"You stole that from a movie, Will." She accused him playfully. With a devious grin, Will nodded.  
"Yeah, I did. What are you going to do about it, little one?"

"I'm going to love you forever."

"Good, that's what I was hoping for."

"Are you two done yet? This isn't your night, it's mine!" With a groan, Will looked back towards Anya, who now had the mic in her hands. The audience again laughed, and music started back up again as Will lead Buffy off the floor. As they left, Willow and Xander both came up to congratulate the happy couple.

"So, love, now that you have me all to yourself, what are you going to do with me?" Will asked her later that night.  
"I'm going to ravish… this ice cream." With a grin, she swiped her finger through the ice cold confection, and dotted his nose.

Before she could run, he tossed a pillow at her, which is how the couple spent their night: pillow fighting.

The End

I hope you've enjoyed the story, which I enjoyed writing. It took a long time, and many breaks, but the end came. I hope everyone got what they wanted from the story. Perhaps, someday, there will be a sequel, but I make no promises. For now, I will simply try to finish off more of my other stories as I can.

Thank you for sticking with me, and for the hundreds of reviews, emails, and posts on my tag board. They have helped me finish the story for you.


	24. The End

Two years, 4 months, and 12 days later 

Buffy sighed softly as her hands went to her back to knead at the sore lower area, near her tailbone. After a few moments, she moved her hands, and brushed the long hair from her face with some mild irritation. Glancing at the clock, she watched the second hand tick around quickly, and the minute hand click around slower. _Seven minutes, she thought_, as her hands dropped to her rounded belly.

Will looked over at her from his music sheets, and cocked an eyebrow at her. Buffy merely shook her head, and he nodded, before looking back down to his music. His pen tapped against the table quickly, as his feet bounced against the floor in a fast beat. Before him, the words and notes blurred together, and he glanced back again. She still shook her head at him, so he looked back to the paper.

After another minute, he heard her groan softly, and Will looked back sharply, his head snapping around to look at her. In an instant he was beside her, one hand on her lower back, the other gripped in her hand. He glanced at the clock. _Eight minutes, he thought._

He watched the second hand, and after a full minute and 20 seconds had passed, he felt the pressure on his hand ease up. He noted the time and leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead. She looked up at him, and offered him a tired smile, before resting her head against his chest.

"I'm tired, Will."

"I know, baby. I know." He shifted his head down, and kissed the top of her head. Will glanced back at the clock. _Two minutes, he thought_. His eyes nervously looked down at the small woman curled up in his arms, his wife, and the mother of his unborn child. His nerves were frayed with worry. It had been hours now, but the contractions refused to even out, and Buffy hadn't slept in nearly 18 hours as it was.

"Love, let's go lay down, and at least close our eyes, alright? It's going to be a long night at this rate, and you need your sleep." He glanced back at the clock. _Three minutes, he thought._

Buffy simply nodded her tired head against Will. He stood up slowly, and helped his wife to her feet. He escorted her down the hall of their new home, and into their bedroom. She sat heavily on the bed, and looked up at him just as another pain came over her. Will glanced quickly at the clock in the bedroom, and thought with a bit of giddiness that it had only been four minutes that time. _Four minutes. Two more like that, and it would be time to call the doctor, he thought. _She gripped at his proffered hand tightly, and bit down on her lip through the pain, allowing only the smallest of squeaks to emerge.

Three hours, and 19 minutes later 

"Come on, baby. Just breath. It's almost over, I swear." Will's voice was soft as he whispered against her sweat soaked hair.

"It hurts, Will."

"I know, baby. I know."

**_One hour, and 38 minutes later_**

****

"I need you to move, please. She needs help, and I can't give it with you standing there, William." A gentle voice said behind him, as a hand lay on his shoulder. In front of him, Buffy was laying on the hospital bed, her face pale, her eyes were scrunched shut, and silent tears dripping from the corners.

"I… do I have to leave her?" He turned and looked at the doctor with a hopeful expression.

"I'm afraid you can't stay right there, but yes, you can stay. I just need you to go stand over there while I get her ready."

Will nodded and turned back to look at Buffy. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before walking reluctantly away from his love.

The doctor and several nurses filled in the space he had occupied; before a needle was shot into the IV she wore. Her eyes opened tiredly to look up at Will. As she looked at him, a small tight smile appeared on her lips, and she mouthed the phrase, 'I love you'. He offered her an encouraging smile, and did mouthed the same words back to her. A moment later, she was unconscious.

One hour, and 26 minutes later 

****

Will emerged from the long pale hallway into the small waiting room, where his family and Buffy's waited, along with several friends. They all stood quickly, and looked at him expectantly.

"It's a girl…. And a boy. Buffy's asleep still. They kept her out so she could rest." His words shook as he talked to them, the emotions of the past day catching up with him. Family and friends surrounded him, hands patted his back, and words of congratulations were given to him, but his thoughts lie with the woman sleeping down the hall, and the twins they hadn't expected. One child, certainly. Not two. After a few minutes, he extracted himself, and made his way down to the nursery, where his twins, _HIS twins_, were being bathed.

One boy. One girl. His. Hers. Theirs.

****

Two days, four hours, and 50 minutes later 

"Sebastian William and Julia Elizabeth, welcome home." Buffy's voice was soft as she cradled the two newborns to her chest. She was lying across the bed she shared with Will, who was currently helping to oversee the adding of items to the nursery. "I love you both."

****

**_AN:_**_ This is –the- end. I don't know what compelled me to add to it, but I figured adding on to their lives might not be a horrible thing, and to show that they indeed married, and now have a family of their own._

_Thank you SOO much for enjoying this story that I spun out._

****


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